B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma is calling for Ottawa to tighten bail and sentencing rules as Prime Minister Mark Carney alludes to potential changes to the Criminal Code.
Sharma and B.C. Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger recently met with their federal, provincial and territorial counterparts. Carney has detailed $1.8 billion over four years to increase federal policing capacity across Canada to combat crime, as part of the upcoming federal budget set to be tabled in November.
Sharma said the changes proposed “helps keep repeat property offenders off the street, tightens up rules for intimate partner violence – which is a key aspect of some of the asks we’ve made; helps with the B.C. Review Board and helps with extortion investigations.”
On Oct. 16, Carney said that amending the Criminal Code would focus on crimes committed by violent and repeat offenders, with the intention of targeting those accused of serious crimes like violent auto theft, breaking and entering, human trafficking, violent assault and sexual assault.
The legislation will include introducing a “reverse-onus bail” for major crimes, allowing consecutive sentencing so multiple crimes mean longer time behind bars, imposing harsher penalties for organized retail theft and restricting conditional sentences for a number of sexual offences.
In a previous letter to federal Justice Minister and Attorney General Sean Fraser, Sharma called for reforms to be made in how the Criminal Code governs the court on what is considered an appropriate sentence or potential bail for a repeat offender.
Sharma pointed to a case in Kelowna, where James Plover is accused of murdering his former partner, Bailey McCourt, in a parking lot on July 4. Plover was found guilty for uttering threats and assault by strangulation stemming from a 2024 incident just hours before McCourt’s death.
At the time, he was not released on bail but instead bound by the same conditions from his release in 2024, along with a $500 bond, as he awaited a sentencing hearing set for September.
Sharma said it’s clear changes need to be made around intimate partner violence and the protections for victims when they come forward to talk and seek safety.
When it comes to extortion investigations, Sharma said there’s a dedicated team of about eight Crown counsel that’s specifically focused on extortion cases. She said she gets regular reports from the prosecution service and “they are quick to act” if a report falls on their desk.
– With files from Kelowna Capital News