A Manitoba judge is expressing concern that recent discussions over bail reform are reducing the presumption of innocence in Canada’s justice system; Taking a rare step, according to a legal expert, could help improve public understanding of the issue.
Provincial court Judge Dale Harvey said that while that presumption has always been a fundamental principle of Canadian law, “there appears to be a significant movement these days, supported by some leaders, or so-called leaders, of our institutions, to restrict that presumption by calling for meaningful bail reform.”
“All the uproar about the current state of bail and its application is, in my opinion, insulting to any sitting member of the court at any level right now, and comes from, at best, a misunderstanding of the applicable laws or, at best, ignorance of them,” Harvey said during a recent bail hearing in Winnipeg, where he denied the release of a man accused of drug trafficking while on bail. custody.
Harvey’s comments come as the federal Liberal government has proposed changes to the justice system The intention is to keep some defendants locked up longer while Ottawa tries to reduce crime rates.
Those changes are designed to make it more difficult to obtain bail, particularly for repeat and violent offenders. They include the creation of so-called “reverse liability” for some crimes, meaning that detention is the default option and it is up to the bail applicant to demonstrate why he should not remain behind bars while awaiting trial.
If approved by Parliament, these new reverse charges will apply to people accused of violent or organized crime-related car theft, burglary, human trafficking or smuggling, extortion with violence, assault and sexual assault with suffocation, strangulation or suffocation.
Judge Harvey’s recent comments also included some comments relating to the tertiary reason for detention, which relates to denying bail to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice.
“That refers to a reasonable member of the public,” Harvey said. “Not someone prone to making quick decisions based on skeletal information, who is prone to writing letters to the editor saying the justice system sucks, without realizing that they themselves are part of the justice system.”
‘Bold’ but not problematic comments: legal expert
That hearing was not the first time Harvey made comments about bail reform from the courtroom.
At another hearing last month, he noted that while the Criminal Code was previously amended to include the principle of restraint, which could allow more people the opportunity to obtain bail, “there is obviously now growing concern that too many people are being released before trial, a reverse situation to the previous one.”
At another bail hearing last month, Harvey reminded the court that “judges are not fortune tellers.”
“We don’t know what anyone is going to do in the future. And there have been many tragedies. But not everyone can be denied bail, otherwise we will abandon the presumption of innocence, we will abandon some of the Charter rights that everyone enjoys,” he said.
“And those who criticize the justice system as being flawed or inadequate…hopefully they do so in an informed manner, and yet we often see those who know little about the law, who focus only on the results, and yet are more than willing to offer their uninformed opinion.”
One legal expert said that, while rare, he sees no problem with a judge making comments like Harvey’s; In fact, those kinds of comments can help better inform public debate on the issue of bail reform, said Brandon Trask, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba’s faculty of law.
“Just because it was bold doesn’t mean it was problematic,” Trask said, adding that he believes some politicians have “distorted” the debate on the bail issue.
“Judges are a little limited in what they can say outside of the courtroom,” he said.
“To see a judge take the opportunity … to inform the public about what the system requires now is really helpful, and I would say it’s kind of refreshing to see it in the context of a case like this.”
