Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the federal government to reverse bail policies included in Bill C-75 after another police officer was killed in Ontario earlier this week.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Poilievre said the party adds its voices to “all Canadians in offering our condolences to the loved ones and family” of Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala.
Pierzchala was killed in a shooting while on duty on Tuesday when he stopped by a vehicle in a ditch near Hagersville, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police said Pierzchala was shot and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Two people — 25-year-old Randall McKenzie and 30-year-old Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry — have each been charged with first-degree murder in Pierzchala’s death.
Poilievre said 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 said. “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.”
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Poilievre said the details of Pierzchala’s killing are “deeply troubling,” adding that he is 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 said. “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 published Thursday said court documents suggest McKenzie had been initially denied bail in a previous case, and was later granted it upon review in the months before the shooting on Tuesday.
The report said McKenzie was denied bail in December 2021, as he awaited trial in Hamilton on a number of charges after he was accused of assaulting three people, including a peace officer, earlier that month. He was also facing a number of related weapons charges, including carrying a handgun with a defaced serial number.
But after the decision was reviewed, McKenzie was granted bail in June under strict conditions, including that he wear a GPS monitor, report to police twice a week, live with his surety and not possess any weapons.
He was ordered to only leave his residence with his surety for medical emergencies, to attend meetings with his lawyer or to attend counselling recommended by a local Indigenous centre.
A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to show up for a court date in August, the documents said. Court documents indicate he has not since appeared in relation to that case.
Poilievre said he meets with police officers across the country who “tell me that they often have to re-arrest the same person in the same day.”
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“Arresting a violent criminal in the morning and then again in the afternoon after they have been released on bail,” he said. “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 said his party is calling on the federal government to reverse the policies.
He said repeat, violent offenders should remain in custody while they await trial.
Poilievre said, though, that does not include “minor offenders” who “make a small mistake in their youth.”
He said his party 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 said.
In an interview with Global News on Friday, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, said his thoughts are with Pierzchala’s family, adding 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 said. “We’ve lost too many officers.”
Mendicino said in the case of Pierzchala, the “system did not work.”
“The accused was wanted for months, it should have never come to this” he said, adding that the ministry is working with all levels of government and all levels of law enforcement to “examine potential reforms to our system.”
Mendicino said the government has agreed to “examine the laws and policies closely,” adding that it is “urgent work.”
“This is a full court press,” he said, adding that Pierzchala’s death “brings into sharp focus what’s at stake.”
Mendicino said he has the “utmost respect” for law enforcement, saying the way 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 said. “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 said the objective 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 said some provisions of the legislation make it more difficult for alleged offenders to be approved.
“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 explained.
Mendicino said that the government’s focus currently 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 comes to combatting gun violence, Mendicino sad the government is “investing in law enforcement” and has put “hundreds of millions of dollars into into frontline law enforcement” over the last several years, but said more needs to be done to stop 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 said. “But for now, obviously, our focus very much has to be on supporting the family of Greg Pierzchala.”
In an email to Global News, Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti said he was “shocked and dismayed” by the fatal shooting of Pierzchala.
“I want to offer my condolences to his family, loved ones and colleagues.”
He said the federal government 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 said the government’s position has “always been clear.”
“Those who commit serious offences will receive serious sentences,” he said.
Lametti said Canada’s criminal justice system is a “shared responsibility,” adding 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 offered his condolences to Pierzchala’s family, calling the news of his death “heartbreaking.”
“To his family, friends, and colleagues — the thoughts of all Canadians are with you,” he wrote on Twitter.
-with files from The Canadian Press
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