Tory asks Trudeau to end bail for repeat gun offenders

Thestar.com
August 7, 2018
David Rider

Mayor John Tory is renewing his call on Ottawa to toughen bail rules for people accused of gun crime, including no bail at all for repeat offenders.

“We want to ensure that repeat gun offenders not be granted bail in the event of a subsequent gun charge and remain in custody until the charges have been disposed of by the judicial system,” Tory wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a letter dated Friday and obtained by the Star.

Mayor John Tory is renewing his call on Ottawa to toughen bail rules for people accused of gun crime, including no bail at all for repeat offenders.

The mayor, who is seeking re-election, also asks for a review of bail guidelines and procedures for anyone accused of gun crime, as well as federal funding for anti-violence social programs and police tools including surveillance cameras, and a Toronto ban on handgun sales.

“Toronto City Council and I endorsed all of these measures because we need a wide variety of the strongest methods possible to deal with gun violence in our city,” Tory wrote. “I believe now is the time for all of us to take action to stop gun violence. I assure you that I am ready to support the federal government in taking action on this issue.”

When it comes to bail Tory seems to be on the same page as Premier Doug Ford, who recently said “somebody gets arrested on a Friday night and they get bail and are back out on Wednesday for retribution. That’s absolutely unacceptable.”

Jessica Trepanier, a spokeswoman for Attorney General of Ontario Caroline Mulroney, said all three levels of government must work together to stop gun violence and that “includes ensuring that the bail system is working to keep our communities safe.”

But Daniel Brown, a Toronto director with the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, called demands for more imprisoned accused people misinformed.

“Everyone has a constitutional right to seek bail,” including accused repeat gun offenders, said the criminal defence lawyer who called tough-on-crime descriptions of a revolving jail door for violent criminals “pure fantasy.”

“People released have strict supervision and (financial) sureties and those who don’t aren’t released,” Brown said. “It’s well-studied that the most marginalized, racialized communities are the most impacted by strict bail rules, and money spent on incarceration is better spent on mentorships and after-school programs that deter people from turning to gun crime.”

There are examples, apparently rare, of Canadians committing violent crime while awaiting trial. Christopher Husbands was convicted of killing two people in a 2012 Eaton Centre shooting while under house arrest on a sexual assault charge. His murder convictions were later overturned and he will get a new trial.

There are also cases such as Toronto restaurateur Bob Turner, who languished behind bars for almost two years before a gun-and-drugs case against him fell apart in 2011. Turner had been denied bail after police alleged he was a gang member.

Sarah Climenhaga, an environmental and sustainability advocate who is one of Tory’s 34 mayoral rivals, told the Star: “The city should work with higher levels of government to ensure our justice system is fair and effective, not press for simplistic solutions.

“Rather than diverting the public’s attention to measures beyond our jurisdiction, we must keep the focus on actions at the municipal level within our power,” including investments in poverty reduction and public health to work “with, not against, crime-affected communities.”

Saron Gebresellassi, a lawyer and mayoral candidate, panned Tory’s bail proposal, saying such legislation “would directly and disproportionately impact youth from high priority neighbourhoods and those from First Nations, Inuit, Métis and racialized communities.

“There is no shortage of literature to demonstrate that tougher bail conditions would only serve to exacerbate social inequality,” she said, adding Toronto gets hit with summer gun violence in a “cyclical fashion.”

“History has shown that punitive measures including incarceration and increased policing in low-income neighbourhoods does not produce results.”