Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, witnesses, for being here.
We are here at the justice committee studying bail reform and the need for it. One of the reasons we're doing this is in response to a letter the 13 premiers wrote recently to the Prime Minister, and I have a copy of that letter here in front of me. I just want to read a couple of sentences from it and ask for your comments. They say, “We write to urge that the federal government take immediate action to strengthen Canada’s bail system to better protect the public and Canada’s heroic first responders.”
We all remember with great sadness and shock, really, Constable Greg Pierzchala being murdered by a person who was out on bail after being accused of firearms-related crimes, so it is very urgent that we look into this and ensure that the public remains confident. Otherwise the administration of justice could be brought into disrepute.
Here's the problem that I see. The premiers go on to say, “The justice system fundamentally needs to keep anyone who poses a threat to public safety off the streets.”
Well, we all agree with that, but how does a judge determine in advance whether a person is a threat? In hindsight, we all know that the person who murdered Pierzchala was a threat, but did the judge know it ahead of time?