Federal candidates urged to make public safety, bail reform priorities after election

Mayors and reeves in Manitoba are calling on the next federal government to make it tougher for repeat violent offenders to get bail when accused of a crime.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham sent letters urging candidates who are running in the city to prioritize public safety and advocate for justice reforms if they are elected April 28.

“Winnipeggers need members of Parliament who represent the voice of Winnipeg in Ottawa. We don’t need individuals to represent Ottawa to Winnipeg,” he said. “We need members of Parliament who will prioritize keeping repeat violent offenders off our streets in Winnipeg.”

Gillingham also called for more federal support for mental health and rehabilitation of offenders.

Justice-related concerns were heard at an Association of Manitoba Municipalities conference in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

Some leaders cited a crash that killed bride-to-be Kellie Verwey, 28, near Portage la Prairie in January. RCMP said the crash was caused by an alleged impaired driver in a stolen pickup truck.

The suspect was on bail and allegedly violated conditions stemming from earlier charges, including break-and-enter, court records showed.

In the last three years, Brandon police have arrested about 3,600 suspects and laid 3,300 additional charges for people accused of failing to comply with court conditions, said Bruce Luebke, a councillor in the western Manitoba city.

“When we talk about drain on police resources, that’s a pretty good example of what we’re dealing with,” he said.

“We need members of Parliament who will prioritize keeping repeat violent offenders off our streets in Winnipeg.”–Scott Gillingham

The Winnipeg Police Service’s latest annual report, for 2023, said suspects on bail accounted for 20 per cent of violent crimes where a criminal charge was laid in the city.

The right to reasonable bail is a constitutional right in Canada.

“Bail is a vital part of our justice system. It protects the presumption of innocence, but the balance is way off,” said Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet Reeve Loren Schinkel, a retired Winnipeg police officer. “(Does) the Charter of Rights need to be overruled? No, I don’t think so, but I think the rights of the victim should come first.”

The federal Liberals and Conservatives have pledged to make changes if elected.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised “stricter” bail laws for violent and organized crime, home invasions, auto theft and human trafficking, “including and especially for repeat offenders.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pledged a law in which people convicted three times for serious offences would be ineligible for bail, parole and house arrest, and be handed a mandatory minimum 10-year prison term and up to a life sentence.

They would become designated dangerous offenders, and would not be released until they prove they are no longer a danger to society, he said.

Poilievre disagreed that such a law would be unconstitutional.

Last year, the Liberal government, under prime minister Justin Trudeau, amended bail provisions to create a new reverse onus targeting serious repeat violent offending involving weapons, and to broaden the reverse onus targeting repeat offenders of intimate partner violence.

Kevin Lamoureux, the Liberal incumbent in Winnipeg North, said all levels of government must take responsibility and work together to truly achieve bail reform.

“To try to say that it’s just the federal government passing legislation, it’s not that easy,” he said. “We need to be looking at ways in which we can improve the conditions in our community. That means, for example, the City of Winnipeg or municipalities, and how can they contribute to it — policing, for example.

“When you think of the province — the courts, the Crowns — a lot of that is strictly within the province’s administration, if you will.”

Marty Morantz, the Conservative incumbent in Winnipeg West, argued the party’s proposed “three strikes” law is necessary because crime was “rampant” under the Liberals.

“We need to have stronger criminal penalties in place that will keep serious offenders off the streets for longer,” he said. “We also have to be thinking about the charter rights of individual citizens who are victims of these crimes, and the charter rights of the families who are victims of these crimes.”

Taking aim at Poilievre’s proposals, Leah Gazan, the NDP incumbent in Winnipeg Centre, said any use of the notwithstanding clause to impose mandatory sentences would be without precedent and dangerous.

“We need to focus our attention on crime prevention, like adequate mental health and addictions care, youth recreation and social supports so that we can intervene before crime happens and the justice system has to get involved,” she said in a statement.

A Supreme Court decision affirmed that the release of accused people is the “cardinal rule,” while detention is “the exception.” Other decisions ruled that for most alleged crimes, release on bail at the earliest reasonable opportunity with minimal conditions is the default position.

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Kate Kehler, executive director of Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, said governments do not give enough attention or money to anti-poverty measures or other initiatives, such as restorative justice programs, that help to prevent crime.

The vast majority of people incarcerated in federal facilities grew up in poverty, she said.

“We spend our vast amount of resources addressing the consequences of crime as opposed to getting upstream of it and addressing the poverty,” Kehler said.

She said “three strike” laws in the U.S. were a failure.

Gillingham suggested the city is doing what it can by hiring more police and community safety officers, and budgeting $1 million this year for new recreation programs for at-risk youth.

Local efforts can only go so far without “meaningful change” at the federal level, the mayor said.

In question period, Premier Wab Kinew and Progressive Conservative justice critic Wayne Balcaen sparred over the provincial NDP government’s own bail reform efforts, which include funds to hire more Winnipeg police officers.

At the AMM conference, provincial Justice Minister Matt Wiebe echoed the call for reform at the national level.

The Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys has said prosecutors oppose bail where appropriate. The association has called on Manitoba to hire more staff to help Crowns cope with an increasing workload.

— with files from Tyler Searle

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

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