Is bail failing? Charter rights may still clash with confidence in the justice system (Pt.2)

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Taber Times

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last week, in part one of this study about the Canadian bail system, we went through the ins and outs of what bail is, how it’s applied by the provinces, and what rules dictate its enforcement as mandated by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Supreme Court of Canada.

 We discussed an example of a ‘bail denied’ scenario in Taber court and will now review a ‘bail granted’ scenario that went awry rather quickly.

A Taber man who moved here in the summer of 2024 was released into the community on bail under the supervision of a surety in December after being charged with and eventually convicted of assault.

In the process of a bail hearing, a surety is often interviewed on the witness stand to determine their trustworthiness and ability to maintain a semblance of control over an accused while he awaits trial. A surety is almost always asked what they would do if the accused fails to comply with the conditions of his bail. The right answer is always “inform the police.”

In this case, the man was back in jail after racking up more than eighteen new charges and violating his conditions during that same bail release in the winter and spring of 2024-25. The charges from March included possession of: prohibited firearms, a dangerous weapon, substances, counterfeit money, body armour without a permit, and ammunition. During the second week of June, he appeared for another bail hearing with a new surety.

The court proceedings revealed that the man had a long history of violence and incarceration, including a 2013 conviction for manslaughter that included roughly a decade of federal prison time.

The man’s bail was denied on secondary and tertiary grounds. Those grounds for detention are: Primary-to ensure those charged with an offence appear in court when required; Secondary-to maintain public safety by assessing and managing any potential risks if an accused person is released and; Tertiary-to maintain the public’s confidence in the justice system.

Unlike the man’s first bail hearing in late-2024 upon which he was released, secondary and tertiary grounds will now keep him in detention as he awaits trial.

Though bail reforms were enacted in January of 2024, the system often seems caught between a rock and a hard place. During this man’s late-2024 bail hearing, the prosecutor strenuously objected to his release, saying the public’s perception of the system could be jaded by it. Even the judge said that upon reviewing the man’s record, the fact that he was even considering a release was a miracle.

 The defence successfully argued on the basis of tribal issues that skew the system towards over-incarceration of Indigenous peoples. The man was ultimately released pending a $300 payment and contingent upon his residing at a relative’s Taber address under multiple conditions. The arrangement didn’t last long.

In a discussion with Taber Police Service Chief Graham Abela, we discussed bail policy and the give and take that exists between the police and the courts.

He said, “The police often do their job, and they try to do that the best they can within the fundamental Charter of Human Rights and within the law. But where we seem to be lacking is in the consequences field and in the prosecution field.”

Abela admitted that sometimes the police feel like they’re “banging our heads against the wall,” when the justice system isn’t keeping up with societal expectations. When contrasted against the values of those in the community, he said it can be frustrating.

“You can work a long time on a file, put together a file that’s really good, and then it falls apart in prosecution, and no one gets sentenced for committing those ills against our community,” he said.

“Bail reform is a big deal. It is,” he emphasized. “The federal government introduced bail reform several years ago, and it became lenient towards people who are charged with serious offenses. Unless there’s a real public interest or violence is associated with the matter, they are not held in custody pending trial.”

He said that the chiefs of police in the province have been vocal with Alberta prosecutors in trying to address the issue. Research conducted by the Edmonton Police Service found that many of the serious crimes committed in the City of Lethbridge are instigated by offenders who are released into the community on bail. Recidivism remains a disturbing trend.

Abela said many of those accused have shown “a total disregard and disobedience of judicial orders and conditions. I think it does reach a point where there should be a reverse-onus on those individuals to show why they should be released. In my view, in the balance of justice, the scale has actually tipped too far the other way.”

Reverse-onus is one of the reforms to impact bail hearings, but it is used cautiously and only when deemed necessary. In the meantime, members of the public may still question the revolving door of the justice system.

“Eventually that door has to shut,” Abela said. “I don’t think the public would be shocked at holding people who are committing these offenses.”

In fact, “It’s the opposite. I think the public are quite shocked that they’re being released. Behaviors repeat themselves, right? I don’t know, sometimes it defies my mind.”