Catch-and-release bail system a failure

By Lethbridge Herald on December 31, 2022.

LH EDITORIAL BOARD

Goodbye, 2022. You were quite the experience! But will 2023 be any different or better? Only time will tell.

As we say goodbye to yet another year, it’s only natural to wonder what lies ahead for our city, province, country and world.

Like every year, 2022 was an eventful one. It had highs and lows, conflicts and celebrations. It was a year many experienced loss in their lives while others had children, got married or had other reasons to consider 2022 one of the best in their lives.

To each of us, 2022 will provoke different emotions when we think about it. Locally, we saw many matters come to the forefront of the public conscience – the homeless situation and encampments spent much time in the news. We were finally a year totally free of  COVID-19 restrictions, free to celebrate holidays and special events in person with no limitations. 

We could also mourn losses with all of our loved ones.

We saw gasoline prices and inflation skyrocket. The provincial government has provided relief on the former by lowering the provincial fuel tax which will be completely eliminated for several months starting Sunday, a much-needed respite.

We saw city council give residents an annual property tax increase of just over five per cent in each of the next four years, a matter which has prompted both opposition and understanding from residents.

And while a community survey showed Lethbridge residents overwhelmingly have a positive perception of life here, that 90 per cent response is still down from the 2020 survey by four per cent.

Of those 90 per cent of respondents who do have a positive perception, 34 per cent feel quality of life is very good while 57 per cent say it’s good.

Thirty one per cent of survey respondents say social issues top their personal list of concerns, those matters which we’ve heard loudly and clearly here as has city council, most recently at two public hearings regarding bylaw amendments requested by the Lethbridge Housing Authority.

The LHA is trying to improve the homeless situation by getting people who do want off the streets and want to change their lives into supportive housing. Unfortunately, the problems many are experiencing with the behaviours of some are impacting perceptions of their endeavours. 

The LHA knows not everybody is willing to change and live by the rules they impose – which is evident in their eviction rates – but that organization is trying to make a difference for Lethbridge and those who truly want to turn their lives around.

Unfortunately, the experience of too many business owners, workers and residents downtown is clouding perception of the LHA efforts. 

A massive recent fentanyl bust in our core may be the last straw for those who are fed up with the criminal behaviours of some who are making the downtown core their playground.

Drug dealers are a huge problem here and they will continue to cause a problem until the justice system begins cracking down on prolific offenders and keeps them locked up until they face accountability.

The catch-and-release bail system is a travesty of justice and an abject failure of the federal Liberal government to address crime in our country.

Bill C-75, enacted by Parliament on March 29, 2018, is a flawed document that puts community safety across Canada at risk.

Amendments to that bill were made, according to the federal justice department, to “streamline the process by increasing the types of conditions police can impose on accused so as to divert unnecessary matters from the courts and reduce the need for a bail hearing when one is not warranted.”

The amendments – which you can see at justice.gc.ca – also legislate what Ottawa calls a principle of restraint for police and courts “to ensure that release at the earliest opportunity is favoured over detention, that bail conditions are reasonable, relevant to the offence and necessary to ensure public safety….”

This so-called “earliest opportunity” provides an opportunity for drug traffickers and other criminals to get back on streets quickly to continue their anti-social, harmful behaviours. 

And while criminals can be charged with breaching bail conditions, the so-called Zora decision made by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2020, even makes those charges difficult to stick. 

In that decision, the court ruled that to be found guilty of breaching bail conditions people have to know they are breaching them or that they are seriously risking a breach.

If bail conditions were more strict, perhaps we’d be seeing less drug dealing and fewer overdoses in our downtown, we might be seeing fewer unhoused downtown where dealers prey on the so-called vulnerable. And what is the definition of vulnerable? We are all, in some ways, vulnerable so why are some people allowed to use that as an excuse for their conduct?

Why is the federal justice system handcuffing law enforcement from doing its job? The federal government needs to take accountability for this.

Perhaps if there were stricter bail regulations, our downtown would be experiencing fewer of the problems that are affecting communities across the country.

Perhaps, the Lethbridge Housing Authority might actually get some support for its efforts to reduce the numbers of homeless on city streets.

But arguably because of Bill C-75 and its impact on our communities, the LHA is facing a tough battle as will any organization that is making a legitimate effort to address the issues impacting downtown.

We can only hope change will come in 2023. But it’s going to take a massive shift in attitude toward crime by the federal government. 

Is there a chance that change will come from a government that, with its controversial Bill C-21, appears to be taking aim at legitimate owners of firearms?

Don’t hold your breath. With catch-and-release bail, protection of the rights of criminals is clearly more important in Ottawa than the rights of law-abiding Canadians.