Letter to the Chair of Halton Region, gary carr - Sept 15, 2025
Dear Chair Carr,
I am writing with regard to the motion entitled “Public Safety Requirements to Protect Our Communities” that has been tabled for the September 17, 2025 meeting of the Halton Region Council.
The motion as currently written does not reflect the actions that the federal government has undertaken to protect communities across Canada. Nor does it acknowledge the role of provinces and territories that have the responsibility for the administration of justice in their jurisdictions.
The federal government will table legislation to strengthen safety in our communities, including bail reform and stronger sentencing in the House of Commons upon return to the Fall 2025 session. We expect legislation to be tabled imminently. The current provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada provide for pre-trial detention of accused individuals. Decisions to grant bail are made by the judges and justices of the peace presiding over bail hearings in provincial court with consideration of factors that include among others: the accused’s flight risk, the protection of the public and maintaining confidence in the administration of justice.
With the implementation of Bill C-48 in January 2024, key additions were made to the Criminal Code’s bail regime to address serious repeat violent offenders using firearms and other weapons, specifically:
Created a new reverse onus targetting repeat violent offending involving weapons and expanded the list of firearms offences that trigger a reverse onus.
Required courts to consider an accused person’s history of convictions for violence when making a bail decision.
Required courts to state on the record for any bail decision that they have considered the safety and security of the community in relation to the alleged offence, thereby increasing accountability to the public.
Thus, the Criminal Code provides criteria and guidelines to deny bail to serious repeat and violent offenders. These amendments implemented through Bill C-48 to further tighten bail rules for violent, repeat and weapons related offences were a direct response to calls for reform from provincial Premiers and the policing community.
I want to reiterate that while the federal government has responsibility for the Criminal Code, and we are tabling legislation to strengthen it, the administration of justice in communities across Canada is the responsibility of provinces and territories as they apply the law. Their responsibilities include:
Building and modernizing courthouses and detention centres to ensure there is capacity to hold individuals in pre-trial detention and to hold bail hearings and cases.
Appointing Justices of the Peace who preside over bail hearings and conduct criminal remand court
Appointing judges who preside over the majority of criminal trials Hiring and managing Crown Attorneys who prosecute those that violate the criminal law
Managing daily operations and staff resources assigned to the administration of justice
Overseeing bail monitoring efforts
Funding, resourcing and overseeing all provincial police services in their respective province or territory
As they have judicial control over administrative and enforcement makers, the provinces have the responsibility to fund and resource provincial police forces and provincial courts.
The federal government proactively fulfills, and will continue to fulfill, its role in the criminal justice system to ensure that the Criminal Code of Canada meets and addresses the public safety concerns of Canadians.
In closing, amendments to the motion should be made for accuracy and to better reflect changes that have already been made to the Criminal Code and the cross-jurisdictional responsibilities for administering the criminal justice system. As currently drafted, this motion omits the role of provincial governments, municipal governments and law enforcement agencies.
I look forward to hearing from you in response to this letter.
Sincerely,
The Hon. Anita Anand
Member of Parliament, Oakville East
Minister of Foreign Affairs
cc:
Sima Acan, MP Oakville West
The Hon. Karina Gould, MP Burlington
The Hon. Adam Van Koeverden, MP Burlington North - Milton West
Kristina Tesser Derksen, MP Milton East - Halton Hills South