Le procureur général Doug Downey tient un point de presse | Le 1 mai
Gouvernement de l'Ontario
[{'start': '6.039', 'end': '11.978', 'text': "Well good morning everybody.  Thank you for joining us here  today. I'm Doug Downey,  Ontario's attorney general. And  today I'm proud to be here with  my colleagues to announce that  this afternoon, our government  will introduce new legislation  to protect Ontario through Safer  streets and stronger communities  Act. As the premier reminded  everyone yesterday, it was just  two months ago that our  government received a strong  mandate from the people to  protect Ontario. It's a mandate  to protect our workers and  businesses from tariffs and  economic uncertainty, but it's  also a mandate to protect our  communities and make our streets  safe. The proposed changes and  related measures that we're  introducing today, building on  our government's ongoing work to  strengthen public safety and  protect Ontario communities. You  see a group of us here today  because our ministries have  worked hard on initiatives  related to this bill. It's truly  a cross-government initiative,  and I'd like to start by  reiterating some of the  important measures that we  announced earlier this week to  strengthen our justice system,  protect our communities, and  help put repeat violent  offenders behind bars. As many  of you know, the pressure on our  courts continues to grow. We  need to support Ontario's  judiciary by taking important  steps to help keep pace with the  complex and rigorous work being  done by prosecutors. The courts  need to hold accountable, hold  offenders accountable, protect  victims, and uphold the law. We  also know that more needs to be  done to help our hardworking  police investigate and arrest  those who break the laws. That's  why we're introducing new, tough  on crime measures to help  strengthen our justice system.  To start, we're proposing new  changes to the Courts of Justice  Act to speed up the appointment  of judges to the Ontario Court  of Justice. This will support  our plan to deliver faster  access to justice for victims of  crime, and help them avoid the  grief and anxiety that comes  with long delays. Our government  recently made history by  significantly increasing court  capacity at the Ontario Court of  Justice, with a $29 million  investment to add at least 25  new judges to the court. And  this year, our government is  going further by allocating 17  additional judges to the Ontario  Court of Justice. This is  historic progress as we work to  reduce pending cases before the  courts and ensure they are  resolved in a timely manner.  It's all part of our plan to  increase capacity and protect  Ontario. Violent crime is on the  rise, and we are doing whatever  it takes to keep people and our  community safe. As part of our  efforts to crack down on serious  crimes like auto theft, our  government announced our plan to  amend the Highway Traffic Act to  give police the authority to  search for and seize electronic  devices that are intended to be  used for vehicle theft. We're  helping law enforcement by  delivering stronger tools to  crack down on illegal key fob  programing devices, fob scanners  and some smartphone applications  helping disrupt criminal  activity. In addition, we're  making the dedicated major auto  Theft Prosecution Response team  permanent, with a focus on crime  hotspots across Ontario. The  prosecution team provides legal  advice and prosecutorial support  to police services, and it helps  dismantle organized crime  networks. These new and  permanent measures are holding  offenders accountable, giving  the police the tools they need  to stop thefts before they  happen, and keeping our  communities safe. But we know  there's more to do, and our  government will do whatever it  takes to keep our community safe  from criminals while delivering  solutions to improve public  safety. We often hear two. Too  often we hear about how the  current bail system is failing.  Revolving door bail policies  from the federal government have  led to violent crime in our  communities. We need to keep  violent repeat offenders off our  streets. That's why we are  introducing a three pronged  tough on crime strategy to  strengthen our justice system  and improve the existing bail  system. We're giving prosecutors  the tools they need to hold  violent and repeat offenders  accountable, and that means  stronger bail teams, tighter  monitoring and faster action by  the courts. These new measures  build on the $112 million  invested over three years to  ensure that high risk and repeat  offenders simply comply with  their bail conditions. We will  continue working to ensure the  justice system works to protect  Ontario, support victims and  keep communities safe. We're  also calling on the newly  elected federal government to  join us by strengthening bail to  protect victims of crime. As you  can see, our government is  taking action to keep  communities safe and protect and  protected from crime. In  addition to these changes, the  province is expanding its  dedicated Guns and Gangs units  in targeted regions across the  province. This will bolster our  border security by addressing  the impact of illegal firearms  coming into Canada. And since  2018, Ontario has invested over  $358 million under the guns,  Gangs and Violence Reduction  strategy. It's with the support  of the federal government, and  we're protecting Ontario from  violent gang members who  threaten our people with  illegally obtained firearms. If  passed, the Protect Ontario  through Safer Streets and  Stronger Communities Act will  improve the efficiency of our  courts and help stop the  revolving door style criminal  activity activity that puts  people at risk. We're making  historic changes that would  improve capacity and efficiency  in the court system, introducing  stronger measures to hold  offenders accountable and  helping fight crime. These tough  on crime measures are putting  violent repeat offenders on  notice, and we will continue  doing whatever it takes to  protect Ontario. Now I'll pass  it over to Associate Minister  Tibollo to share more news of  what you can expect in our  announcement today. Thank you.  Merci. Miigwetch. Thank you,  Minister, and good morning,  everyone. I'm very pleased to be  here this morning. And before I  begin, I want to say how happy I  am to be alongside Minister  Downey as the Associate Attorney  General. I've enjoyed getting  started on the work to improve  our justice system, protect the  people of Ontario from crime,  and keep our community safe. And  I'm proud to be here beside  alongside all my colleagues, to  support changes our government  is making, to get tough on  criminals and, crucially,  support victims of these heinous  crimes. With the introduction of  the Protect Ontario through  Safer Streets and Stronger  Communities Act, we're proposing  changes that would protect  children and youth, support  victims and survivors, and keep  repeat and violent offenders off  our streets. That's why today  I'm proud to announce that we're  updating the regulation under  Christopher's law, a law that  mandates that anyone convicted  of a sex offense in Ontario has  to register with the police in  their community. It's a good  law, and we're strengthening it  so that child sex traffickers  are also included on what will  now be known as the Ontario Sex  Offender and Traffickers  Registry. This will make it even  easier for our police services  to keep our communities safe,  and we're taking bold action to  build a province where everyone  can live safely and criminals  are put behind bars. On top of  these efforts, our government is  delivering justice for those who  have been victimized by heinous  crimes like intimate partner  violence. We know from survivors  that this abuse can be physical,  emotional, mental or all three.  This can leave people feeling  powerless and alone, anxious and  or depressed. Nobody should live  in fear like this. No one should  live under these deplorable  conditions. And that's why we're  also proposing increased tools  to address intimate partner  violence by amending the Family  Law Act and the Children's Law  Reform Act to make restraining  orders against abusers more  accessible. Additional persons  would be able to apply for a  restraining order on behalf of.  Individuals in need of  protection, including designated  representatives or other persons  with permission of the court.  This builds on our government's  plan to end gender based  violence and our anti-human  trafficking strategy. We will  always fight to protect victims  and survivors of crime as we  work to strengthen community  safety. Now, many of us have  heard disturbing stories about  the rise in human trafficking  here in Ontario and across the  country. There is no place for  this in the province of Ontario.  And to help build on that  commitment, our government will  bring into force the  Accommodation Sector.  Registration of Guests Act on  January 1st, 2026, which will  help to combat human trafficking  in hotels and the short term  rentals sector. This will  provide police with the tools  that they need to help  investigate human trafficking,  as they could be more easily  obtained. Related information  obtained by hotels and other  prescribed businesses. We're  also proposing to proceed with  consultations on regulations to  support the implementation of  Bill 41, the protection for  coerced debts incurred in  relation to Human Trafficking  Act. This would reduce the  financial hardship survivors  face because of human  trafficking, and allow them to  make progress on their path to  recovery. We'll also explore  changes to make it easier for  creditors to sue traffickers to  recover a debt through a  statutory claim. Today's  comprehensive new measures build  on our government's plan to  strengthen tools to protect  victims and survivors of crime  and keep communities safe across  the province. Thank you very  much. And I'll turn it over to  Minister Williams. Thank you,  Minister Tibollo. Good morning  everyone. It is fitting that we  are making this announcement  today, on the first day of  Sexual Violence Prevention  Month, because the proposed  legislation and measures we are  introducing today are the result  of collaboration across  government to protect Ontarians  by keeping our community safe.  At the center of this work is  our focus on protecting children  and youth, while supporting  victims and survivors of  intimate partner violence and  human trafficking. The measures  that we are introducing today  build on our four year action  plan to end gender based  violence, providing stronger  supports for victims and  survivors. And we are taking  further steps by renewing our  anti-human trafficking strategy  for another five years. The  strategy renewal will provide an  investment of more than $345  million over five years that we  can continue to raise awareness,  protect victims and intervene  early, support survivors and,  most importantly, hold offenders  accountable. Our renewed  strategy will also continue to  protect children and youth from  sex trafficking. In the first  three years of the previous  strategy. Service providers help  more than 20,000 people affected  by human trafficking. Renewing  our strategy means that even  more victims and survivors of  human trafficking will get the  wraparound supports they need to  heal and rebuild their lives. It  also means that more offenders  offenders will be held  accountable through our justice  system, and it means that more  children and youth who are being  sex trafficked, or who are at  risk of being sex trafficked,  will get the help they need  through specialized services  like our children at risk of  exploitation units. These care  units are a new and innovative  approach that are showing great  success. The first two units in  Toronto and Durham are serving  more than 200 children and youth  each year, and we are in the  process of establishing a third  care unit in Kenora. The success  of our anti-human trafficking  strategy relies on the  dedication and the collaboration  of service providers, victim  services, child welfare  professionals, law enforcement,  indigenous communities and  organizations, and so many  others. Thank you for all the  work that you do at the front  lines. Our government is  determined to protect Ontario,  keep Ontarians safe, and support  women's well-being, and we will  continue to work together to  build a province free of  violence and exploitation and a  province full of opportunities,  because we know that when women  succeed, Ontario succeeds. Thank  you so much. And I will turn it  over to Minister Kerzner.  Good morning. I'm pleased to  join my colleagues today for an  announcement that will help  support victims of crime and  keep people safe. As I said  yesterday, when I was with the  Premier, that protect Ontario  does not mean anything. It means  everything. 25 years ago,  another Progressive Conservative  government under the leadership  of Premier Mike Harris passed  Christopher's law. It was passed  to protect the safety and  security of the people of  Ontario by establishing Canada's  first sex offenders registry.  Any person who has been  convicted of a designated sex  offense must register with the  sex offender registry, including  individuals who have been  convicted of sex crimes in other  provinces or outside Canada. It  gives police services access to  the information and  investigative tools they require  to prevent and solve these awful  crimes, and it enables law  enforcement to pinpoint the  names and addresses of every  registered sex offender who  lives near a crime scene. But we  need to update the law to keep  up with the times and to protect  Ontario. We're strengthening  Ontario's sex offenders  registry. Christopher's law the  change we are making will better  protect our children and  vulnerable by providing police  services with access to  additional information to  prevent, to investigate and to  solve these horrific crime  crimes. And we're putting these  criminals on notice that they  will be held to account for  their actions. They are simply  not going to get away with it.  This builds on our previous  efforts and another example that  under the leadership of Premier  Ford, there has never been a  government more dedicated to  investing in public safety and  supporting the efforts of law  enforcement to crack down on  crime. And again, to be clear in  the proposed legislation, we are  updating Christopher's law to  include child sex traffickers on  the Ontario Sex Offenders  Registry. Under the leadership  of Premier Ford, we will be  relentless in combating crime  and keeping our community safe.  We are acting without modern day  precedent, with a singular focu,  trusted by Ontarians that are  inherent right to live safely in  our own homes and communities  will never be compromised. The  constancy of our unwavering  support to everyone that keeps  us safe will always be at the  forefront of all of our actions.  Thank you. Merci beaucoup.  Miigwetch. We'll now open the  floor to questions. Please  remember that the format is one  question, one follow up. You can  come to the mic and state your  name and outlet. Minister Downey  and Minister Kerzner, would you  both state for the record today,  sir? Do you agree, yes or no?  With the Premier's suggestion  that we should be electing  judges? I will answer your  question, but I think we've got  a protocol that I was asked to  follow, so I think you can find  it, Mr. Harris. Go ahead. I  think you can hear me. Confine  yes or no. Do you agree with the  Premier's suggestion that we'd  be electing judges? Minister, I  think the frustration that it  comes from is real. He's  expressing what we're hearing at  the doors and what we're hearing  from people. It's not something  that we're pursuing, but it is  important that we go after the  offenders, the violent and  repeat offenders and the suite  of things that we just talked  about over the last several  minutes. Those are the crucial  things that we're talking about  today. Do you think the Premier  understands, though, the  importance of the independence  of the judiciary? Like if you  give him a law tutorial or  anything like that? Look,  everybody knows that judicial  independence is a bedrock in a  democracy. But but the level of  frustration, the level of  frustration that constituents  and that the people that we  serve have boils over into, into  ways that we need to acknowledge  and we need to do something  about. We need to go after these  repeat violent offenders and  whatever tools we have to do, we  need to use. Minister, the three  chief justices in this province  felt compelled yesterday to  issue a statement explaining  basic civics and what judicial  independence is prompted by the  Premier's comments yesterday.  Your boss's comments. Doesn't  that set off alarm bells? Isn't  that embarrassing? We have the  three best chief justices in the  country right here in Ontario.  We work very closely with them.  It's very collaborative. We are  building a stronger, better  justice system in in  coordination with them. Their  their statement yesterday may  have been targeted at the public  just to reinforce what the  bedrock of democracy is. And I  accept their letter, accept  their post as a baseline bar  association raised the issue of  Donald Trump, the premier. Lots  of people say yesterday that  FEMA is sounding like Donald  Trump or seeing in the United  States an erosion of the rule of  law. These comments are  dangerous, aren't they? The  frustration that people are  feeling when they don't feel  safe in their own homes is  dangerous, because that breaks  down the tenants of society.  When people are not able to feel  safe in their own space. That's  why we're going after the  offenders. We're holding them to  account. We're putting resources  in, we're changing structure,  and we're going to make justice  fair but faster. Minister,  you're asking for the power to  set criteria on the judges that  are appointed. How can the  public trust you to use that  responsibly, given those  inflammatory comments from the  Premier yesterday? I have  criteria when I look at  applications. What this does is  make it public. If I give  criteria to the committee, then  it's public and transparent what  that criteria is. So it's  actually a move towards  transparency. What criteria are  you going to set. You have a big  area. I haven't issued any any  criteria. But I do talk openly  about having an understanding of  victims, having an understanding  of community, having a  connectivity to the area that  they have applied to serve. So I  have very publicly talked about  some of the criteria that that I  anticipate putting forward if  this passes and but nonetheless,  whatever it is, it will be  transparent and open to the  public. Minister, the Premier  seemed to suggest yesterday  about publicly posting justices  bail records. Is that something  you support or actually  considering? It comes from the  same place of frustration,  looking for ways to move the  dial to protect Ontarians. And,  you know, there is a lot of data  that is that is public. But we  have an arrangement in Ontario  that that statistics are  collected but not released  without judicial consent. So I  don't see that changing anytime  soon. Minister, do you feel  judges are too ideological? You  know, I'm not going to answer an  open ended hypothetical, given  whatever the situation is. I  think everybody comes from  somewhere. It's a human system.  And that's why the application  process and the vetting process  that Ontario has, which is a  gold standard, comes with an  interview where the federal  government does not, I think is  an important piece of this, so  that the committee gets a sense  of, of the individual beyond  just what's on paper. Just let  the government do whatever the  government wants, right? I mean,  there's an important level of  oversight. Would you agree, sir,  there are three branches of  government. I think they all  play an important role. And I  think that the coordination and  the goodwill that we have  between those branches is at an  all time high. I think never  before in the history of, of the  government has there been a  better working relationship with  the courts than there is now.  How much damage control have you  had to be doing since this  frustrated rant by the Premier?  The damage control that I've  been doing is working to improve  the system. Because people are  so frustrated out there, they  don't feel safe in their homes.  They don't feel safe in their  driveways. They're seeing auto  theft. They're seeing repeat  violent offenders cycle in and  out of bail hearings. They're  seeing sureties not held to  account. That's the damage that  I'm dealing with. Was your phone  lighting up from with whatever  was calls or messages from the  various legal organizations that  we've all been hearing from?  Look, my phone is always on,  always open. After our vigorous  job interview in February, I can  tell you the phone hasn't  stopped since. For the Minister  of Health. Minister, why have we  not heard from Doctor Moore amid  this measles outbreak, which has  more cases than the entire  United States? He has said no to  every single interview request.  Minister. Well, Doctor Moore has  been working very closely with  our public health units. I have  repeatedly reminded people that  it was over a year and a half  ago that actually it was Doctor  Moore that directed the public  health units to ensure that they  refocus their efforts to ensure  that childhood vaccinations were  up to date. He has worked  collectively with public health  units. Erie Shores, as an  example, did an incredible job  where they focused on getting a  visa, a measles vaccine clinic  up and running because that  community was particularly hard  hit. He's been working  incredibly hard, and I just want  to acknowledge and thank him for  his work with the public health  units. Can you give a single  interview? Is your ministry  hiding Doctor Moore from the  media minister? Absolutely not.  The work that Doctor Moore does,  leading Ontario public health,  leading all of the public health  units, ensuring that they are  focusing their efforts. We've  made sure through Doctor Moore's  leadership that there is  sufficient vaccines for every  public health unit who wants  them. We have a restart, a  public education campaign that,  frankly, was a recommendation of  Doctor Moore to make sure that  parents and caregivers  understand the critical  importance of getting that  vaccine. Can you expand on what  you're considering when it comes  to involuntary treatment, and  what sort of things you're  considering when looking at  models like BC versus Covid? So  today's justice Bill really is a  call to make sure that we do the  consultation that is necessary.  These are individuals who often,  because they have a mental  health or addictions issue,  addiction, are coming in contact  with our police services in our  justice system. So individuals  within our corrections facility  using probation and parole have  some programs available. But we  want to talk to those  individuals with lived  experience, families who've been  impacted. Of course, clinicians  who understand what addictions  do and how they can impact  people's lives. And the  consultation that will begin  ensures that we get that  feedback to make sure that we  provide the right advice to  Cabinet and Ontario. Minister,  can you clarify if you will be a  part of the Municipalities Act  that was revealed yesterday?  This the focus of today's press  release and the bill that is  being tabled today is very much  justice focused. So we are  talking about individuals who  have been impacted and are in  our correctional facilities or  in probation and parole. This is  it for today's focus and the  bill that is being introduced  today, the justice bill that is  being introduced today is very  much focused on individuals who  have mental health and  addictions. And often the only  reason they are impacted by our  justice system is because of  those addictions. You have  buried it within. If you look at  the links for this release. So  why have you done that? As you  can tell, there are many, many  ministries that are part of this  government wide legislation. Our  role here is to make sure that  we do that consultation, talk to  the experts in the field. Talk  to the individuals who have  lived experience. Look, there's  no doubt that there has been an  increase in the use of illegal  and, frankly, deadly drugs in  our communities and, yes, in our  corrections facilities. And we  need to do the work to make sure  that any programs that we bring  forward are actually going to  help people. This will be the  last question. As Deputy  Premier, do you think the  Premier's comments on judges  were offside? Yesterday,  Minister, I think that the  attorney general spoke very  well. We've all heard those  examples. Listen, I, I remember  a Georgetown mother who was  killed because there was a  restraining order against her  partner, and it didn't work. He  was out on parole, and he killed  her. So I get the frustration,  and I want to make sure that  everyone is protected in  Ontario. Thank you everybody.  That concludes our announcement."}]