A father of Bolton, Ontario, says he is angry and disappointed after his son was seriously injured in a Brampton accident allegedly caused by a driver with repeated disabilities, which was released on bail.
Riz Arshad, father of Gabriel Arshad, 21, said he would like people to communicate with their parliamentarians to demand bail reform.
Peel Regional Police said the defendant, a 58 -year -old Mississauga man, was discharged on bailing with the condition that he does not drive a motorized vehicle. At the time of the accident on July 5, the Police said, he had five prior disability driving sentences dating from 2010 and was in three separated life driving prohibitions.
Arshad said he could not believe that the defendant was released on bail. He said that what happened to his son was terrible enough, but when he learned of the bond, he felt that he added “insult to the injury” because man should probably not have been on the road.
“I do not understand what I thought there was. My son will be here for months, if we are lucky. And this guy was out the next day, enjoying his family, doing what he does every day and potentially leaving his little incident behind him. We were very disappointed,” he said.
“We are very angry because he had this opportunity to make it potentially. It is very discouraging.”
“We need to keep these guys in jail and show them that we are serious. This is something serious they are doing. They are taking the lives of people in their hands … The justice system has to realize that by letting out this type, it is putting other people at risk now.”
The defendant has been accused of a deteriorated driving charge that causes bodily damage, a charge of driving with excess blood alcohol and three prohibited driving charges.
According to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, people accused in Canada have the right to bail unless there is a very convincing reason to keep them in custody. Granting the bond means that they can remain outside the jail, often with specific conditions, while their case moves through the justice system, a process that can take many months.
Several provincial governments and police associations have asked the Federal Government to examine again and review the bail system. The defenders have pointed out that the vast majority of people in the Ontario prisons have denied bond and are waiting for the trial.
Victim who probably has ‘injuries that alter life’: the police
Gabriel has been at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center from the accident. He was driving on the 50s between Brampton and Bolton when he was beaten. The accident, which involved four vehicles, occurred at the intersection of Highway 50 and Coleraine Drive around 4:15 pm
In a press release on July 10, Peel Regional Police said Gabriel is likely to have “long -term injuries that alter life.” Two other people were injured.
Arshad said he expects the best and that his son remains in a coma and that he has already had three surgeries to fix the damage in his stomach.
“But it still has a lot of things to go. It has a lot of broken bones and, unfortunately, a serious head injury that has to try to overcome.”
Arshad said his son, his third son, is a “good child” with many friends and a generous person. He was a voluntary soccer coach and dreams of being a plumber.
“With luck, you will live some of those dreams I had. I hope you have your second and third chance too.”
Meanwhile, the family is still in shock, said Arshad. He said that the first two days were “very, very scary”, but Gabriel’s condition seems to have improved slightly. He said he and his wife have been next to his son in the intensive care unit every day. Gabriel has two older sisters and a younger brother.
“I firmly feel that I’m going to take my son home. You know, it’s not going to happen overnight … but I feel we’re going to take him home,” he said.
“Some people should not be released,” says Madd Canada
Steve Sullivan, CEO of Madd Canada, said Monday that the decision to free the accused was “quite surprising” for the organization.
“The assumption is always that people will get bond because they are all innocent until it is demonstrated that it is demonstrated, but we know, practically, that some people should not be released,” he said.
In Canada, it depends on the police and the prosecutors to present the case against the granting of the bond, although the murder and certain other crimes have an “reverse responsibility”, which means that the accused must convince the court to release them.
At the beginning of 2024, the amendments of the federal government entered into force to rescue provisions under the Criminal Code, focusing on repeated violent criminals who used weapons. The changes also extended the reverse responsibility addressed to the repeat offenders of the violence of the intimate couple, but did not focus on the criminals repeatedly convicted for driving with disabilities.
However, according to the government’s website, the changes “require that the courts indicate the registration of any bail decision that they have considered the security of the community in relation to the alleged crime, which increases the responsibility of the public.”
Sullivan said it is a challenge for the criminal justice system to deal with people who continue to repeat the behavior that puts others at risk.
“Unfortunately, supposedly in this case, we have now seen this person continue their behavior until it has caused serious damage to someone else, again respecting the right to be innocent. This is what you do not want it to happen,” he said.
“I think our system sometimes fights with those people who simply cannot transmit the message and how you deal with that continuous risk.
Sullivan said he assumes that the defendant has a problem to drink and expects them to have offered rehabilitation.
He said that a better solution for a life driving prohibition is the installation of a life ignition interlocking device, a detection device that can prevent an engine from starting if it detects that a controller has alcohol in its system.
It is illegal in Canada that a driver operates a vehicle if it is affected by alcohol, drugs or both. Drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent are considered deteriorated under the Criminal Code and are subject to possible charges. For young drivers, rookies or commercials, alcohol cannot be presented in the system while operating a vehicle.
