File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

BAIL REFORM

Kamloops MP doesn’t believe bail reforms will have desired effect

May 16, 2023 | 4:09 PM

KAMLOOPS — On Tuesday (May 16), the federal Liberals announced a bill in Ottawa that seeks to address bail reform, and make it more difficult for repeat offenders to be released on bail.

Justice Minister David Lametti stated that the bill directly responds to concerns raised across the country about prolific offenders. The topic of bail reform has been front in center in places like Kamloops where community safety is top of mind for many in the community.

The legislation seeks to introduce reverse-onus bail conditions under select circumstances including for people charged with serious violent offences involving a weapon. Reverse-onus means the alleged offender must prove that they deserve to be released on bail.

Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Frank Caputo — a former Crown prosecutor — wanted to see the government go further.

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“The problem, in my view, is we already have expansive reverse-onus. In other words, the burden is already there and yet bail still isn’t working. What I think we have to do is address the legal test — not simply make more steps in the reverse-onus ladder, because it’s just not working, from what I can see,” said Caputo.

The bill also looks to impose the reverse-onus on intimate partner violence cases.

The Kamloops MP has raised a private members bill in the House of Commons to amend the legal test of a reverse-onus and believes the government should look to adopt his bill.

“If you look at Bill C-313, that I put forward, it actually amended the legal test as to what it means to be in a reverse-onus. And that is where I think the government could and should have gone farther and I will be raising that in committee,” added Caputo.

Caputo noted that overall, he doesn’t believe the new legislation will capture many offenders.

“Beyond that, even the provision that addresses repeat offender, oftentimes those offenders are already on a weapons prohibition because they have committed a serious violent offense. If you are on weapons prohibition and you breach it, you are on a reverse-onus anyway. This is just adding another reverse-onus — and this isn’t a situation where having two reverse-onuses makes it doubly hard to get out of jail. You can have 10 of them, you can have one of them it still of the same legal effect,” said Caputo.