The Centre Block of Parliament Hill is pictured as members of Parliament return to the House of Commons in Ottawa on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, following the summer recess. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The House of Commons has unanimously agreed to adopt the Liberal government’s bail-reform bill at all stages and send it to the Senate for review.
The decision came on MPs’ first day back in Ottawa after a summer break.
The proposed legislation would make it harder for some repeat, violent offenders to be granted bail.
Canada’s justice system currently requires prosecutors to prove why someone should stay behind bars, but the legislation would instead put the onus on some offenders to prove why it would be safe for them to be let out of prison.
The Liberal government introduced the bill in the spring amid sustained pressure from premiers, police associations and victims’ rights groups to change the law.
Liberals hinted during debate that they would be open to the bill’s speedy passage, and it was a Conservative motion to make that so that ultimately received support from all parties.
The motion stipulated that the bill would be considered adopted at the end of the Monday’s proceedings.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2023.
