Thank you so much. I will be reading from my notes on my computer, although I will be looking periodically to see if you're holding up a yellow card.
Hello, everyone. It's lovely to be with you this afternoon. As many of you know, the work of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, or CAEFS, has been playing a key role in shaping services and policy direction for Canada's population of federally sentenced women and gender-diverse people, as well as those at risk of incarceration, since 1978. We do this all while envisioning a world with strong and well-resourced communities, where everyone has what they need.
I come to you today from the traditional land of the Lenape people, on what is now known as Manhattan.
CAEFS also works to address the persistent ways in which the women and gender-diverse people who are impacted by criminalization are routinely denied their humanity and are excluded from considerations of community. The efficacy of our bail system is a critical conversation to have, as many of the criminalized women and gender-diverse people we work with and alongside are denied humanity and excluded from community through lack of access to bail.
A clear demonstration of this was a discussion that was related to me recently about the locating of bail court at the Finch Street courthouse in Toronto. This decision was applauded by some, as it meant that it was closer to the Vanier jail, the provincial jail for women, and a shorter distance to transport the people who were denied bail. I believe this message is quite clear.
Today, I'm so happy to be joined by Dr. Nicole Myers. Those of you who have paid attention to our website recently will know that CAEFS, along with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Dr. Nicole Myers, sent a letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice on this very topic at the end of January. I will discuss some of what we wrote in that letter, as well as some additional reflections on this topic.
We addressed our concerns with the letter sent by the premiers of the provinces on bail reform. In our letter, we highlighted the contradictions in what we believe is the direction the premiers have proposed be taken for bail reform. In particular, we're deeply concerned with what appears to be a complete lack of attention paid to an extensive body of research documenting the current operation of judicial interim release in Canada.
As Dr. Nicole Myers has already pointed out, there are more people today in pretrial detention than there are people serving custodial sentences in our provincial and territorial jails. We emphasize the foundational premise of our judicial system, which is the presumption of innocence. Hand in hand with that premise is the right to reasonable bail. The dismal reality is that too many people are serving time in detention before they've been found guilty.
I cannot underscore enough the importance of this presumption of innocence. We know this because in our work, we see overwhelmingly the power of the state in the lives of the people we work with. These are people who have very little power. They're being swept along by the tide of the criminal justice system, without a means to steer their own ship.
As such, we caution that criminal law reform needs to be undertaken very carefully, as any changes could potentially have unintended consequences, particularly for those who are already marginalized. When a change in reverse onus is suggested, as was proposed by the premiers in their letter, it fails to recognize this tremendous power imbalance between the state and accused persons. Decisions like this must never be made lightly or reactively.
Finally, our letter summarizes some of the more salient points of the evidence pertaining to the operation of bail in Canada. I won't go into it, but I'd be happy to answer any questions. Actually, I'm sure Dr. Nicole Myers would do a better job on it than I would.
Beyond the issues raised in our letter, I would be remiss if I did not speak about those who lost their lives in jail while awaiting trial. In Ontario alone, over 280 people have died in custody since 2010. The link between deaths in custody and bail reform is undeniable. If, in Ontario, over three-quarters of the people in our jails are on remand, then there is a direct link between the number of people in our jails who are on remand and their deaths.
As highlighted in a recent report on deaths in custody in Ontario, released in December 2022, being on remand increases a person's risk of death for a variety of reasons, including heightened risk of suicide, which is four times that of the sentenced population, and of drug overdose. The report further expands upon these reasons and points to “the challenges of adjustment, uncertainty, drug or alcohol withdrawal, disrupted personal relationships, isolation, restrictive conditions, and first time incarceration.”
I'll end there, but I welcome all your questions. I hope to get to the rest of my comments then.
Thank you very much.