Good afternoon.
I am a lawyer and the director of the criminal justice program for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
I would like to begin today by telling you the story of Umar Zameer. Four years ago, Mr. Zameer was charged with first-degree murder. On a night out in Toronto with his pregnant wife and two-year-old son, he was approached by people in civilian clothing with their guns drawn in a parking garage. He panicked, drove away and unintentionally hit one of the men, who turned out to be an undercover police officer who tragically passed away.
Mr. Zameer was released on bail, and there was outrage. A premier called it an example of a criminal having his life put ahead of victims and families. A mayor called it disgusting and a disturbing decision. Two and half years later, Mr. Zameer was acquitted by a jury on all charges in what was widely viewed as a weak case that never should have been brought. What stood between Mr. Zameer, an innocent man, and prison cell for those two and half years? It was bail. Mr. Zameer's story uniquely grabbed the headlines, but his story is not rare. Roughly half of criminal cases in Canada do not result in a finding of guilt. But for pretrial release, innocent people would lose their jobs, the ability to see their loved ones and their liberty, despite having committed no crime at all.
Bail has become more, not less difficult to obtain in Canada over the past 50 years. According to Statistics Canada, 22% of people in provincial and territorial prisons in 1978 were denied bail. When Bill C-75 was passed in 2019, that number tripled to 67%. Last year, across Canada, it stood at 76%. While the number of people imprisoned because they were denied bail has skyrocketed, conditions in provincial and territorial jails have plummeted. In 2025, the ombudsperson of Ontario found provincial jails there in a state of crisis with severe overcrowding and frequent lockdowns. Similar observations have been made in other jurisdictions. In these dire conditions, the innocent may plead guilty simply to get out. Others will leave with trauma that will imperil their rehabilitation.
How do we reconcile this reality with the headlines that we see about bail?
First, critically question the notion that bail is driving an increase in crime across the board. For example, again according to Statistics Canada, charges for motor vehicle theft and break and enter offences are down approximately 10% since 2020 and around a full third since 2010. In Montreal, gun violence has decreased 47% since 2021, according the SPVM. In Toronto, as you have heard, shootings and firearm discharges are down 40% this year, according to the Toronto Police. This September, the mayor of Vancouver announced that violent crime in his city was at a 23-year low.
Second, effective bail reform requires us to be able to identify and measure where problems may lie, yet no jurisdiction provides standardized data on the number of people who allegedly reoffend while on bail, their charges or their release conditions. That data would also tell us about the many bail releases where people do not reoffend and people who abide by their conditions. Those cases must also be taken into consideration when it comes to bail reform.
It is vital that the federal government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, collect and publish standardized data to ensure that any future changes are grounded in evidence.
Thank you.