The Ford government is proposing a series of “tough on crime” measures that it says are aimed at protecting families, supporting human trafficking victims and bolstering the court system.
The measures are part of a wide-ranging justice bill — the Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act — that Attorney General Doug Downey tabled at Queen’s Park on Thursday. The government is also planning to launch a consultation to explore “mandatory” and other addictions treatment for those in the justice system.
The legislation comes as Downey downplayed Premier Doug Ford’s recent musings over electing judges and posting their records publicly.
“We're making historic changes that would improve capacity and efficiency in the court system, introducing stronger measures to hold offenders accountable and help it fight crime,” Downey said at a press conference on Thursday morning before tabling the bill.
“These tough on crime measures are putting violent, repeating offenders on notice, and we will continue doing whatever it takes to protect Ontario,” he said.
The government has been teasing various pieces of the legislation throughout the week, announcing Thursday that it would amend regulation under Christopher’s Law — which established a sex offender registry — so that child sex traffickers are included in the database.
“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 Trafficker Registry,” Associate Attorney General Michael Tibollo said.
This change would allow police to “better track and monitor sex traffickers,” according to the government.
The Progressive Conservatives are also planning to bring the Accommodation Sector Registration of Guests Act into force on Jan. 1, which Tibollo said would help tackle human trafficking in hotels and short-term rentals by enabling police to more easily get guest registry information from these businesses.
In addition to the legislation, the government said it would renew the province’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy from 2025-2030 with a $345 million investment.
The province is also looking at tackling intimate partner violence through changes to the Family Law Act and Children’s Law Reform Act that it said “would make restraining orders against abusers more accessible” by allowing additional people to apply for “family restraining orders on behalf of individuals in need of protection.”
On Wednesday, the Ford government announced proposed changes to the bail system including establishing “Intensive Serious Violent Crime Bail Teams,” made up of dedicated prosecutors who would work with police to “present the most persuasive case possible at a bail hearing in the case of serious and violent crimes” and follow up with bail compliance units to ensure individuals are respecting their bail conditions.
The province is also looking at changes to its GPS ankle monitoring program and the “establishment of a new user fee system for those subject to GPS ankle monitoring as determined by the courts as a condition of bail or release, with the funds potentially used to offset program costs or support victim services.”
The PCs have also created a new "Specialized Cybercrime and Cryptocurrency Prosecution Team” to help police investigations and prosecute “major cybercrime cases,” and plan to make a “Major Auto Theft Prosecution Response Team” permanent.
The government is also proposing to “give police the authority to search for and seize electronic devices that are intended to be used for vehicle theft” through amendments to the Highway Traffic Act, Downey said.
“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,” he added.
Downey also announced changes earlier this week to “speed up the appointment” of judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, saying Thursday this would “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.”
The government also plans to add 17 judges to the court.
Included in a backgrounder on the bill tabled Thursday, the government said it was also looking at ways to “strengthen the correctional system” including through exploring “new or expanded addiction treatment units and programming options for people in correctional institutions or on probation or parole, including mandatory treatment as a condition of probation or parole.”
“These are individuals who, often because they have a mental health or addictions issue … are coming in contact with our police services and our justice system,” Health Minister Sylvia Jones said on Thursday, adding that the government will launch a consultation to get feedback from those with lived experience, as well as families and clinicians.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner said the government needs to first better fund mental health services for individuals who want treatment.
“I don't understand why the government's talking about involuntary treatment when they haven't provided enough funding for people who actually want to access treatment … because they are having wait-lines that are unacceptably long,” he said.
The province said it is also looking at regulatory changes to “establish rules and procedures for searches of staff and visitors and strip searches of youth in youth justice custody and detention facilities.”
Ontario not considering judicial elections: attorney general
Meanwhile, at a press conference Thursday on the proposed changes, Downey appeared to walk back the premier's self-described “rant” on Wednesday, in which Ford railed against courts overturning his government’s laws, and suggested Ontario should hold U.S.-style judicial elections and publicly post judges’ bail records.
Ford’s frustration is the same that many Ontarians are feeling — but “everybody knows that judicial independence is a bedrock in a democracy,” Downey said.
Electing judges is “not something that we’re pursuing,” he said.
The premier’s musing about posting judges’ bail records “comes from the same place of frustration,” but Downey said he doesn’t see the current availability of court data “changing anytime soon.”
Put on the spot about whether he agrees with his boss that some judges are too ideological, Downey said he wouldn’t answer “an open-ended hypothetical.”
Several legal experts raised concerns after Ford’s remarks. Ontario’s three chief justices said it’s “crucial” the judiciary remain independent “so the public can be confident that judicial decisions are made without bias.”
Downey said that no Ontario government has ever had a better working relationship with the courts.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford was trying to distract from “serious issues” like auto jobs being lost in Windsor due to American tariffs.
“I think we can all see through this, right?” she said.
Schreiner and Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, meanwhile, said Ford was taking a page out of U.S. President Donald Trump’s book.
Schreiner said Downey’s walk-back wasn’t enough and called for a “clear statement” from the premier that electing judges is off the table.
“If you want to fight against Trump, you can't sound like Trump and act like Trump,” he said.
