Liberals’ bail reforms will keep more Black, Indigenous people in jail, lawyers warn

OTTAWA — An association representing Black lawyers in Canada says more Black people will be sent to jail if the Liberal government’s bail-reform legislation passes as is. 

And Indigenous Bar Association member Christa Big Canoe says it runs the risk of seeing more Indigenous women kept behind bars if a proposed provision around intimidate partner violence is kept in place.

Representatives of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers and the Indigenous Bar Association are testifying before a Senate committee studying Bill C-48, which seeks to toughen up access to bail for certain repeat, violent offenders. 

The legislation would expand reverse-onus provisions to include those who have a previous conviction or even a discharge relating an offence of intimate partner violence.