Overview

• The Conservative plan is a private member's bill sponsored by MP Arpan Khanna, who drew the No. 10 slot in the lottery, making debate this fall likely.
• The bill would create a new "major offences" category covering crimes such as sexual assault, kidnapping, human trafficking, home invasion and firearms offences, with a reverse onus for release.
• Judges would be required to consider an accused person's full criminal history, and anyone with an indictable conviction would be barred from serving as a bail guarantor.
• The Liberal government says it will introduce its own bail reform legislation early this fall focused on violent car thefts, home invasions and some human‑trafficking and smuggling offences.
• Context includes mixed crime data showing a 3.6% year‑over‑year drop in the overall crime rate alongside a 29% rise in homicides over a decade, Supreme Court decisions that favour early release, frequent failure of private member's bills and civil liberties groups flagging a lack of data on reoffending while on bail.