It does a number of things. I heard—from the moment I was appointed to this position—primarily from law enforcement but also from ordinary Canadians and communities in every part of the country, that we need to do more when it comes to public safety and specifically when it comes to bail and sentencing.
In my view, people are more than willing to give an honest person a second chance, but when a certain individual is in the community for the 28th time and is being accused of a crime for which they have previously been committed, particularly if it's a violent crime, people are right to ask questions.
We have advanced Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act, which represents the most significant strengthening of the bail system in particular in many years, to ensure that for certain violent repeat offenders or those tied to criminal organizations there is a reverse onus put in place and there can be aggravating factors on sentencing, and we will ensure that the court, when looking at the principle of restraint, doesn't use that as a get-out-of-jail-free card but instead insists that they can protect public safety before a person will be released after being charged with any offence that would require them to conduct that analysis.
The measures included in that bill alone—in excess of 80 new reforms in the bail and sentencing system—are going to significantly strengthen the system and have a unique focus on violent repeat offenders who have the potential to make their communities more dangerous.