Alberta justice minister calls for bail reform following death of woman outside Calgary school

Canada’s justice system is just too soft on repeat offenders, according to Alberta’s Minister of Justice Mickey Amery.

But as more and more cases of people becoming victimized by those in-and-out of the system make headlines, some experts say it’s high time for major systemic change.

Amery says repeat offenders now thrive in Canada, and blames a bill introduced by the federal government in 2019.

“We know that when the federal government introduced Bill C-75 there was a remarkable shift in the amount of criminals that were being released,” he said.

He says work is already underway to interrupt the cycle of violence perpetuated by repeat offenders, through strengthening the crown prosecution service, and revising bail practice protocol.

WATCH: Calls for system review following domestic homicide in Calgary

But now, he says passing proposed Bill C-48 is the answer, as it focuses on strengthening Canada’s bail system, and includes a clause on repeat intimate partner violence.

He also said increasing penalties for breaching non-contact orders is not off the table.

Meanwhile, Dr. D. Scharie Tavcer, associate professor in criminal justice at Mount Royal University, says while putting ankle monitors on repeat offenders would be a very effective solution, it needs to start with proactive education.

“I would say junior high, even in elementary — why not? But junior high definitely around sexual health, sexual violence, relationship violence,” she said. “Our culture, I think, still views domestic violence, family violence, relationship violence as none of our business, behind closed doors.

“There’s still a lot of blame, there’s a still a lot of shame,” Tavcer added. “I think we need to start way earlier in educating our young people about dynamics and what’s acceptable.”

She also points to an idea tabled by the UCP this spring, and suggests utilizing agencies that offer GPS ankle monitoring trackers, to alleviate the pressure on first responders, and interrupt the cycle of violent repeat offenders.

“As soon as a person comes within contact of that person, of that person’s space, work, home, children, of their children’s schools — the alarms go off and people attend,” Tavcer explained.

Just this week, a woman was murdered by her estranged husband outside a local elementary school, who had a history of domestic violence charges, and was found violating a no contact order.

Last month, a teen was handed assault charges for a machete attack in the Calgary Zoo parking lot, and was found breaching release conditions.