In conclusion, the John Howard Society of Canada urges the committee not to pass Bill S-205 at this time, as the House has unanimously passed Bill C-48 and the bill is now in the Senate, which gave attention to the issue of intimate partner violence during the bail process and already includes a key measure that is proposed in this bill. Further, the range of section 810 recognizance orders is already adequate to deal with the fear of intimate partner violence, and the proposals in Bill S-205 are disproportionately harsh.
I agree with what the witnesses had to say before. The criminal justice system has a very limited range of tools that it can use to assist with intimate partner violence. The better answers lie outside the criminal justice system.