Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This proposes to add a subsection to require that the judge or justice consider whether the accused is likely to serve time in prison upon conviction. If the judge or justice determines that there is little or no prospect of that, they would be required to release the accused pending trial.
This again comes from testimony from a number of witnesses. It is really derived from a key quote in the Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Antic, that, “An accused is presumed innocent and must not find it necessary to plead guilty solely to secure his or her release”.
That evidence was brought forward by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Dr. Myers of Queen's University, among others.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.