Justice committee  That's one of the things I've been trying to discuss in my testimony and in my brief. It doesn't alter the section in a material fashion. In my respectful submission, it's a mistake to characterize the change from “may” to “shall” as being this really significant change to the ac

Justice committee  I think that, first of all, I will refer to Alberta and what Alberta has done. My understanding is that they've implemented a pilot project, so that you have dedicated crowns who run the bail hearings. They are run between certain hours of the day and it's a lengthy time period,

Justice committee  I can't speak to the prominence or not prominence. I can just tell you that in my respectful opinion some of the things they said before this honourable committee are inaccurate.

Justice committee  Section 516 of the Criminal Code allows for an adjournment in certain circumstances. It's possible that the crown could apply to remand the accused for a set period of time so that the record could be obtained. That's one possibility. In my experience, and I travelled to William

Justice committee  With all due respect, that was a speech, not a question. It's indecipherable to me what you're attempting to ask me, so I would ask that you rephrase it so that I can understand it.

Justice committee  It's nonsensical.

Justice committee  Thank you for the question. It's apparent that not having a record in front of a judge in a circumstance where an accused has a lengthy record definitely impacts on public safety, and it's also—

Justice committee  I can enlighten you if you let me speak. The fact that there are circumstances, and there have been circumstances where an accused's record was not before the court.... I gave you an example in the jurisprudence, and I know you are a lawyer by trade. There are cases, and I've se

Justice committee  Yes, and it's important that it not occur.

Justice committee  That's correct.

Justice committee  No, crown discretion is extremely important to the functioning of the criminal justice system. However, there are limits, and I highlight the limits in my brief, but the crown has discretion to lay a charge or not to lay a charge. The crown has discretion to oppose release or to

Justice committee  Typically, there is not viva voce evidence. What happens is that the police generate a police report. The crown has that in a file, as well as the CPIC, and then the crown reads in the information that has been compiled by the police. That information is hearsay, but it is admiss

Justice committee  That's exactly correct, and there's a case cited in my brief that says exactly that. In the case of R. v. Brooks, the judge said that typically it should even be made an exhibit at the bail hearing. So it's “credible and trustworthy.”

Justice committee  Bill S-217 just changes the “may” to “shall”, as in “shall...lead evidence.” It's not “shall prove”, as everybody keeps saying. It's “shall...lead evidence to prove”. Now I think, and I'll tell you candidly, that the introduction of “the fact” in the legislation is unfortunate.

Justice committee  There's a protection in the section, in paragraph 518(1)(e), that says that a justice can accept any “credible and trustworthy”.... It's a catch-all.