Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to appear before you today on behalf of the almost 60,000 members of the Canadian Police Association. For those of you who might not be familiar, the CPA is Canada's largest law enforcement advocacy organization, with members serving in each of your ridings and representing local police associations from coast to coast to coast.
I want to extend my appreciation for your work in undertaking this important study, particularly as I appear here today less than a week after the horrible tragedy we recently witnessed in Edmonton with the murder of Constable Brett Ryan and Constable Travis Jordan, both with the Edmonton Police Service.
I will begin my remarks by generally agreeing with the previous testimony before your committee by our Minister of Justice, the Honourable David Lametti, where he expressed his confidence in Canada's justice system. Frontline police personnel play a crucial role in protecting the public and maintaining law and order. Our members have a unique and informed view of the many areas where our justice system works, as well as its occasional failings. From my perspective, it doesn't benefit anyone to pretend that there aren't exceptions within our existing system.
Unfortunately, some of those exceptions result in tragic circumstances, as was the case in September of last year when a dangerous individual murdered two people, including Toronto police constable Andrew Hong. The assailant had a lengthy criminal history and clearly continued to pose a serious threat to public safety despite being repeatedly released. Contrary to the belief of some, this wasn't an isolated incident. In fact, just three months later, Ontario Provincial Police constable Greg Pierzchala was shot and killed in Haldimand County by two attackers who also had lengthy criminal histories.
I don't raise these cases to try to armchair-quarterback past decisions but only to highlight the need for all partners in the justice system to come together to address the very specific problem that repeat violent offenders pose not just for police personnel but for all Canadians. We appreciate that bail reform is a complex issue, and we do not claim to have all the answers. We are, however, committed to working with the government, justice system stakeholders and community organizations to find solutions that are fair, effective and non-partisan. We have some specific suggestions that we would like to offer for your consideration.
Establish a specific definition of prolific or repeat violent offender to give Crown prosecutors, justices of the peace and judges a framework or a set of guidelines to work within when considering bail applications, particularly in situations where reverse onus provisions already exist.
Put stronger emphasis on obligations with sureties, and ensure that there are consequences for those who act as sureties, particularly when there is established evidence that they are aware of breaches of conditions taking place.
Increase resources both within the justice system, to provide for dedicated Crown prosecutors who are specifically trained to argue these particular cases and facilitate quicker access to trials for accused who are held without bail; and for police services across Canada, to target those offenders who are in breach of their conditions.
Increase the use of technology, particularly electronic monitoring of offenders on bail, to help maintain public safety in our communities.
Have better data collection to ensure that any policies that are developed are evidence-based and can be evaluated for effectiveness, and to better understand how frequently bail is breached.
I want to be absolutely clear here today that we're not asking for a tough-on-crime solution. As law enforcement officers, we're not asking for an approach that focuses solely on punitive measures. Instead, we ask for a more balanced approach that prioritizes prevention and rehabilitation as well. We believe bail reform could contribute to this approach by ensuring that those who pose the most significant risk to the public are kept in custody until their trials, while those who do not pose such a risk are granted bail with appropriate conditions where necessary.
The fact will always remain that bail is a fundamental right. The presumption of innocence is a cornerstone of our justice system. However, as law enforcement professionals, we are hopeful that this committee, as well as the government, can work collaboratively to identify potential evidence-based legislative and administrative changes to address the concerns that many of the witnesses who have appeared before your committee have outlined.
There are very few issues in Canada where there is consensus that includes every elected premier and provincial minister of justice and public safety as well as police personnel, police boards and police executives. This is certainly one of them.
I look forward to the outcome of the study. I'm certainly happy to take any questions you might have.
Again, thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you today.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.