Doug Ford announces $112M to fix Ontario's 'broken bail system'

Ontario is investing millions to crack down on the province’s bail system and make sure high-risk and repeat violent offenders adhere to their bail conditions.

Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday $112 million will be used towards setting up violent crime bail teams, new technology, providing prosecutors with resources for complex bail hearings and boosting Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad.

"We urgently need bail reform. We're seeing too many innocent people lose their lives to dangerous offenders," Ford said. "We're making sure the most dangerous criminals are locked up behind bars and not creating havoc on our streets.”

A new Bail Compliance and Warrant Apprehension Grant will be funded, with $24 million over the next three years going to police services that establish dedicated bail compliance teams.

The OPP’s ROPE Squad will receive $48 million to create a Bail Compliance Unit, which will be focused on taking down high-risk provincial offenders who break their bail conditions or are at large.

The province is also investing $26 million to create Intensive Serious Violent Crime Bail teams within the courts system to assist prosecutors in preparing for complex bail hearings, and it will also be creating a new Ontario-wide bail monitoring system through the Bail Compliance Dashboard.

“Public safety is personal to us because people are afraid to walk our streets. They’re afraid to take public transportation, they’re afraid to go out at night, and we can’t allow that to continue, and we won’t,” Solicitor General Michae Kerzner said Thursday. “Repeat violent offenders cannot be released back into our communities.”

The Ford government has been calling on the federal government for months to initiate bail reform. On April 5, the Ford government passed a motion calling on the federal government to reform the Criminal Code of Canada to immediately “implement meaningful bail reform.”

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, however, has opposed the proposed reforms, and called for “evidence-based” solutions geared toward lowering the number of incarcerated people in the country.

Earlier this week, Ontario said it’s making more changes during this “growing wave of crime,” like scrapping tuition fees and post-secondary requirements for basic constables.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Katherine DeClerq and Abby O'Brien