New Brunswick’s justice minister says he’s pleased with the federal government’s new bail reform bill, but acknowledges it will have an impact on already crowded correctional centres in the province.
“We’re always teetering near full capacity so certainly it will be something that will need to be considered for sure,” Rob McKee said.
On Thursday, the federal Liberals tabled their highly anticipated bail and sentencing reform legislation, which they say will make it harder for violent and repeat offenders to get out of custody.
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Stricter conditions will be imposed for certain crimes, including sexual assault and breaking and entering. The proposed changes also include consecutive sentences for repeat offenders and a reverse onus system for several new offences, which would require the accused to prove why they should be released on bail.
“We are going to change the criminal law to ensure that the bail system is not viewed as some get-out-of-jail-free card. We’re going to ensure that bail hearings treat public safety as a paramount concern,” federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser said Thursday.
But these changes are expected to create a greater strain on some provincial resources, such as jails and court systems.
For New Brunswick, McKee says the new jail under construction in Minto could provide some relief for the overcrowded institutions. However, there is still a shortage of Crown prosecutors in the province.
“When I first came into office last year, we were hovering around 20 per cent vacancy and we’re now at nine per cent vacancy, so we’re making progress. We’ve hired more (Crown attorneys) over the last three or four years, so I’m optimistic that we’ll have the resources to tackle the crime.”
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