Conservative leader calls for stricter bail policies after Ontario police officer killed | 24CA News
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is asking on the federal authorities to reverse bail insurance policies included in Bill C-75 after one other police officer was killed in Ontario earlier this week.
Speaking at a press convention on Friday, Poilievre mentioned the celebration provides its voices to “all Canadians in offering our condolences to the loved ones and family” of Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala.
Pierzchala was killed in a taking pictures whereas on responsibility on Tuesday when he stopped by a car in a ditch close to Hagersville, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police mentioned Pierzchala was shot and brought to hospital, the place he was pronounced useless.
Two individuals — 25-year-old Randall McKenzie and 30-year-old Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry — have every been charged with first-degree homicide in Pierzchala’s demise.
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Poilievre mentioned Pierzchala was a “hero.”
“He put his life on the line (and) ultimately gave his life for the freedom and safety of everyone else,” he mentioned. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with our police officers who risked their lives to protect the Canadian people and we stand on their side in combating crime to keep our communities safe.”
Poilievre mentioned the main points of Pierzchala’s killing are “deeply troubling,” including that he’s the fifth police officer to be killed since September.
“It is part of a 32-per cent increase in violent crime that has happened over the last seven years, a 92-per cent increase in gang-related murders,” he mentioned. “In this particular case, the accused was out on bail after having allegedly committed similar violent offences, including offences with firearms and offences against police officers.”
A Canadian Press report printed Thursday mentioned court docket paperwork recommend McKenzie had been initially denied bail in a earlier case, and was later granted it upon overview within the months earlier than the taking pictures on Tuesday.
The report mentioned McKenzie was denied bail in December 2021, as he awaited trial in Hamilton on a lot of costs after he was accused of assaulting three individuals, together with a peace officer, earlier that month. He was additionally going through a lot of associated weapons costs, together with carrying a handgun with a defaced serial quantity.
But after the choice was reviewed, McKenzie was granted bail in June below strict circumstances, together with that he put on a GPS monitor, report back to police twice per week, stay along with his surety and never possess any weapons.
He was ordered to solely depart his residence along with his surety for medical emergencies, to attend conferences along with his lawyer or to attend counselling beneficial by a neighborhood Indigenous centre.
A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to point out up for a court docket date in August, the paperwork mentioned. Court paperwork point out he has not since appeared in relation to that case.
Poilievre mentioned he meets with cops throughout the nation who “tell me that they often have to re-arrest the same person in the same day.”
“Arresting a violent criminal in the morning and then again in the afternoon after they have been released on bail,” he mentioned. “These easy catch-and-release bail policies are found in Justin Trudeau’s Bill C 75 — a bill that makes it much easier to get bail. Even in cases of repeat violent offenders and even in cases where the allegations against the newly-arrested offender are serious and dangerous to the public.”
Poilievre mentioned his celebration is asking on the federal authorities to reverse the insurance policies.
He mentioned repeat, violent offenders ought to stay in custody whereas they await trial.
Poilievre mentioned, although, that doesn’t embody “minor offenders” who “make a small mistake in their youth.”
He mentioned his celebration believes that “every Canadian has the right to be safe.”
“Our police officers need all the support they can get in order to provide that safety,” he mentioned.
In an interview with Global News on Friday, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, mentioned his ideas are with Pierzchala’s household, including that he “had his whole life ahead of him, and by all measures is a hero.”
“This has been a gut-wrenching year for the law enforcement community,” he mentioned. “We’ve lost too many officers.”
Mendicino mentioned within the case of Pierzchala, the “system did not work.”
“The accused was wanted for months, it should have never come to this” he mentioned, including that the ministry is working with all ranges of presidency and all ranges of regulation enforcement to “examine potential reforms to our system.”
Mendicino mentioned the federal government has agreed to “examine the laws and policies closely,” including that it’s “urgent work.”
“This is a full court press,” he mentioned, including that Pierzchala’s demise “brings into sharp focus what’s at stake.”
Mendicino mentioned he has the “utmost respect” for regulation enforcement, saying the way in which they “put themselves into harm’s way is inspiring.”
“This tragedy is a reminder that we have to continue to push forward with reforms,” he mentioned. “Not only so that we can bring offenders to justice, but so that ideally … we can stop these tragedies from occurring in the first place.”
Mendicino mentioned the target of Bill C-75 is to “off-ramp non-violent offenders so that we can put the appropriate and sufficient resources and energy into prosecuting and bringing violent offenders to justice.”
He mentioned some provisions of the laws make it harder for alleged offenders to be accepted.
“For example, if you were a repeat offender involving domestic or intimate partner violence, there’s a stricter reverse onus provision on the accused,” he defined.
Mendicino mentioned that the federal government’s focus presently is “two-fold.”
“One supporting the family of Greg Pierzchala and the broader law enforcement community, and to continue to make the investments that are necessary for law enforcement so that they have the people that they need, the tools that they need, the support that they need to keep our communities and front-line officers safe.”
When it involves combatting gun violence, Mendicino unhappy the federal government is “investing in law enforcement” and has put “hundreds of millions of dollars into into frontline law enforcement” during the last a number of years, however mentioned extra must be performed to cease gun crime “before it starts.”
“Which is what we are aiming to do through our Building Safer Communities Fund, which addresses gun crime at its root cause,” he mentioned. “But for now, obviously, our focus very much has to be on supporting the family of Greg Pierzchala.”
In an electronic mail to Global News, Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti mentioned he was “shocked and dismayed” by the deadly taking pictures of Pierzchala.
“I want to offer my condolences to his family, loved ones and colleagues.”
He mentioned the federal authorities will “always work to ensure that our criminal laws, including the law of bail, effectively meet their objectives, keep all Canadians safe and are consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
He mentioned the federal government’s place has “always been clear.”
“Those who commit serious offences will receive serious sentences,” he mentioned.
Lametti mentioned Canada’s felony justice system is a “shared responsibility,” including that federal, provincial and territorial governments “continue to work together to examine ways to improve the criminal justice system, including with respect to the bail regime and its implementation.”
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau supplied his condolences to Pierzchala’s household, calling the news of his demise “heartbreaking.”
“To his family, friends, and colleagues — the thoughts of all Canadians are with you,” he wrote on Twitter.
-with recordsdata from The Canadian Press
