Winnipeg’s Mayor is in Ottawa Tuesday calling for bail reform.
Scott Gillingham, who has been an outspoken advocate for changes to the bail system, is to speak before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights at 2:30 p.m.
Other speakers before the committee include representatives of the Assembly of First Nations, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and a professor from Mount Royal University.
The mayor told 680 CJOB’s The Start he believes repeat violent offenders breaching court orders need to stay behind bars — but that more help is also needed on the inside.
“I’ve heard enough stories — positive stories — of individuals who have been in prison, serving their time, they got the help they needed while incarcerated,” he said.
“I think we need to see the right investments so that when people do inevitably come out of serving their sentence, there’s a better chance that they’re changed and they go on to live a positive and productive life.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said his Liberal government will bring forward a new bail reform bill this week.
Gillingham said leaders are listening, and he’d like to see the removal of statutory release for repeat offenders who violate conditions, as well as improvements to rehabilitation measures and bail enforcement and improved data collection when it comes to crimes committed while an accused is out on bail.
The mayor has been releasing regular “repeat offender bulletins” informing the public about the significance of these issues in Winnipeg. He said Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett is set to release his own bulletin Tuesday for the province’s second-largest city.
“Too often what we see is individuals who don’t comply, who don’t follow the orders the courts have given them while they’re on bail,” Gillingham said.
“I’m releasing the fifth bulletin … it’ll be an example of an offender who breached their court orders four times and ultimately was charged with five violent offences over several years.”
Gillingham’s meeting in Ottawa can be watched live on the House of Commons’ website.