B.C. premier welcomes plans to reform bail system, calls on parliament to pass proposed legislation swiftly

British Columbia's premier says he welcomes the Liberals' new bail-reform legislation, which includes new measures that would make it more difficult for some repeat violent offenders to get released on bail.

Justice Minister David Lametti introduced the bill Tuesday saying it responds "directly'' to concerns raised by premiers, police associations and victims' rights groups

Bill C-48 would amend the Criminal Code so that those charged with a serious violentoffence involvinga weapon one with a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonmentwho were convicted of a similar offence within the last five years will face a reverse onus to get bail.

"Reverse onus"means the accusedwould have to showwhy they should be released instead of the prosecution having to prove that they should remain behind bars.

WATCH|Justice minister says proposed changes to bail system go 'beyond' premiers' requests:

Justice minister says proposed changes to bail system go beyond premiers requests

1 year ago

Duration 1:25

Responding to a question from the CBCs Tom Parry, Justice Minister David Lametti discusses proposed changes to the bail system and how the legislation addresses repeat violent offenders.

B.C. Premier David Eby said Tuesday that hisgovernment hasbeen at the forefront of pushing for changes to keep repeat offenders in jail.

He said bills can often become locked in partisan political debate in the House of Commons or move slowly through the Senate, but this shouldn't happen with bailreform.

"This can't be one of those bills,'' said Eby.

"This can't be a bill that is partisan in nature. It needs to be all hands on deck to ensure it's responsive to the concerns that we're seeing across the country. The premiers across the country have spoken out and I don't think it will be acceptable to anybody from any political party if this bill becomes a political football or gets stuck in the Senate.''

The proposed law would also expand the use of reverse onus forfirearm and intimate partner violence offences, and allow courts to take into consideration community safety and an accused'shistory of violence when making a bail decision.

Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of Battered Women's Support Services in Vancouver, saysit's too soon to gaugethe impact of thenew bail-reform legislation.

"The challenge is always in the implementation and the follow-through,"MacDougall said.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma said the province is making effortsto deal with repeat offenders.

Last month, the province announced it iscreating hubs made of police, dedicated prosecutors and probation officers to target repeat violent offenders.

The 12 hubs are part of the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative, which the province says will focus on targeted enforcement and enhanced investigation and monitoring and will be tailored to meet the needs of communities.