TORONTO – The Canadian Civil Liberties Association strongly opposes the bail and sentencing restrictions contained in Bill C-14.
Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, said: “It is a myth that bail is easy to obtain in Canada. As of last count, 76% of people in provincial and territorial jails are denied bail, a number that has tripled in 50 years.”
“We do not see headlines about the countless number of people who are released and comply with their bail conditions, or who are denied bail but never found guilty,” continued Rahim.
“The CCLA and countless others have repeatedly called on the federal government to collect national standardized data about bail to inform any reforms. Despite three successive Ministers of Justice recognizing the need for this data, today’s reforms again signal no effort to collect it. How can we evaluate something we do not measure?” said Rahim.
Howard Sapers, CCLA Executive Director, said: “People in Canada deserve to be safe, but they do not need to be made afraid first. Governments need to stick to the facts when proposing news ways to deny people their Charter rights. It is time to separate fear from fact.”
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
For the Media
For further comments, please contact us at media@ccla.org.
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