Doug Ford took the podium at a press conference in Peel region last week to announce his government's intention to propose new “tough-on-crime” legislation. Although the conference was on bail reform and the introduction of additional sanctions against those granted bail, the Premier took the opportunity to rail against “terrible, bleeding-heart judges” who are “ideologically driven.”
The proposed Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act would streamline the appointment of new provincial judges and make bail even less accessible for accused people. The law also includes increased funding for prosecutors. This would not be accompanied by increased investment in legal aid, leaving defendants on the losing end of a public funding imbalance. The Act would also expand police powers to search for and seize electronic devices.
On April 22, the Ontario courts delivered an injunction against the Ford government's plans to remove three bike lanes in Toronto. The injunction will be upheld until it can be determined whether the removals are constitutional. These bike lane removals came as a part of legislation that the province claims will reduce gridlock, and the injunction clearly enraged the premier. His rant against Ontario judges appeared to be provoked by this decision, which he said happened “because of their ideology.”
In his tirade, Ford doubled down on his “tough-on-crime” stance. He stated that his government was “going to hire tough-on-crime judges, tough-on-crime [justices of the peace] to make sure that they follow the law and keep these people in jail because they’re just being released.”
The proverbial “revolving door” of bail is a political cudgel used by conservatives to deflect from the real causes of common criminality, such as widespread poverty and dispossession—conditions more and more Canadians are facing amidst the housing and cost-of-living crisis. Despite petitioning the federal government for bail reform, the province has a significant degree of control over the bail proceedings system.
Although the Criminal Code falls under federal jurisdiction, it is the province which funds the courts and appoints its judges and prosecutors. The choices made by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General directly impact the conditions faced by accused persons. Furthermore, pre-sentence detention only happens in provincial detention centres, so any increase in population means more pressure on the province to either expand or build new detention centres.
Data collected by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association show that the government is mismanaging the justice system and failing the people. In 2021-22, the CCLA reported that nearly 80% of people held in custody were in pre-trial detention, more than double the national average in 2017-18.
Ford's announcement comes on the heels of a scandal at Maplehurst Correctional Facility, where detainees were subjected to violent collective punishment at the hands of correctional officers. Conditions at Ontario's jails and detention centres have been frequently criticized as inhumane by courts. A 2024 decision slammed conditions at Maplehurst as “unworthy of us as a society.“"” Similar comments have been made with respect to detention centres across the province.