Difference between revisions of "Criminal Charges (1:IV)"

Often during the show-cause hearing, the focus becomes the conditions an accused person can be released upon and the adequacy of the accused’s bail plan. This is particularly the case where an accused by virtue of section 515(6) of the ''Criminal Code'' has the onus of establishing that the court can safely release them from custody. A release plan may include sureties, cash deposit or restrictive conditions such as a curfew or an area restriction. Sureties can only be imposed when less onerous forms of release are inadequate. The Crown will usually have specific concerns about an accused’s behaviour. Previously, the law required conditions of release to be as minimally restrictive on a person’s freedom as possible while still addressing the cause for concern.

In response to these problems, the Supreme Court of Canada modified the test for judicial interim release in ''[https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2017/2017scc27/2017scc27.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAOciB2IGFudGljIDIwMTcAAAAAAQ&resultIndex=1 R v Antic]'', 2017 SCC 27 and ''[https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2019/2019scc18/2019scc18.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAOciB2IG15ZXJzIDIwMTkAAAAAAQ&resultIndex=1 R v Myers]'', 2019 SCC 18 [''Myers'']. The court emphasized that the accused should be released at the earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous grounds. The test in ''Myers'' requires a bail plan that reduces the risk of the accused re-offending to a reasonable level. There is no longer any requirement to address the risk completely. Furthermore, the Court in Myers allowed for accused to be released from detention in order to receive treatment for mental health conditions and issues with substance abuse; this may help reduce the rate of re-offence and help defence counsel achieve better sentences for these accused.

Bill C-75, An Act to amend the ''Criminal Code'', the ''Youth Criminal Justice Act'' and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, 42nd Parliament, 2019, cl 210 (received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019, coming into force on December 18, 2019) [Bill C-75] amended the ''Criminal Code'' to add sections 493.1 and 493.2 regarding releasing accused that are in custody. In short, the amendment emphasized the rulings in ''R v Antic'' and ''R v Myers'', stating that peace officers, justices, and judges should place the highest priority on releasing an accused at the earliest possible opportunity and on the least onerous grounds. Furthermore, section 493.2 obligates peace officers, justices, and judges to give particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal accused and those accused who belong to vulnerable populations that are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and are disadvantaged in obtaining release.