Justice minister says he doesn't like 'soft on crime' slogans, but won't 'diminish' those concerns

OTTAWA — Justice Minister Sean Fraser says that while he does not believe in using labels like “soft on crime,” which critics employ to describe the justice system, he says it is important not to dismiss the concerns of those who use them.  “I don’t necessarily agree with the sloganeering approach, but that doesn’t mean someone who may agree with it doesn’t have a point that deserves the government’s attention,” he told National Post in a recent wide-ranging interview on Wednesday. Fraser enters the justice and attorney general portfolio at a time when premiers and police chiefs are pressing the federal government to further restrict access to bail, particularly in Ontario, as a strategy to stem the rising tide of auto thefts and home invasions, which police across the Greater Toronto Area and other regions of the country have reported. Making bail more difficult for those accused of these crimes, particularly when violence is used and when they are connected to organized crime, was a promise made by Prime Minister Mark Carney in late April’s federal election, which saw the Liberals elected to a fourth term. The Liberals also campaigned on a pledge to make bail harder for those charged with certain human trafficking and drug smuggling offences, as well as bringing in tougher sentencing guidelines for courts to follow for repeat offenders convicted of a home invasion or auto theft. Crime was a major focus of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s campaign, with candidates handing out leaflets emblazoned with the percentages of how much car theft has increased in and around Toronto, where they flipped several seats from the Liberals. Conservatives have continued to draw attention to crime rates by laying them squarely at the feet of what they describe as “soft on crime” and “catch-and-release” Liberal justice policies. Fraser says the discussion around tightening bail is rooted in legal analysis and not “exclusively on the increased scrutiny that you may see from the public or from another political party.” It is also a multi-jurisdictional matter, he points out, and touches on issues like training for judges and justices of the peace, as well as the shortage of Crown prosecutors, which the Liberals have pledged to tackle. “When we hear the scrutiny that may come from the public on an issue that’s an early warning system that you should be looking into, has there been a change? What is underlying that change?” The involvement of organized crime has increased the number of car thefts in areas like Ontario, said Fraser, who on Wednesday met with the chief of Peel Regional Police to discuss the matter. Asked whether Canadians have a point when they say the country is “soft on crime,” Fraser says he sees the issue differently. “I think it’s important that we don’t operate in the space of slogans and sound bites, but that we don’t diminish concerns that are raised when it comes to the very real issues that underlie those distinct issues that come forward.” “So when I hear that kind of language, sometimes it reflects a desire to get something in the news because it’s easy to communicate. But just because someone uses a slogan doesn’t mean you should ignore a social fact that may underlie it.” With the House of Commons preparing to break for summer, Fraser says the government will be taking the next few months to hear from police and other stakeholders about other measures that may help address public safety, but said a bill ushering in some of the Liberals’ platform commitments is expected to be tabled this fall. He is also still settling into his new role. Fraser has yet to have his first sit-down with Supreme Court Justice Richard Wagner, outside of an introductory call. Framed photos, which have yet to be hung, also sit around parts of Fraser’s office, which is the same one the country’s justice ministers have traditionally used. The weight of the role is not lost on Fraser, who graduated with a law degree from Dalhousie University and had a legal career before entering politics in 2015. “You almost treat the attorney general role as an institution,” he said. The Liberals’ upcoming bail reform measures represent the second time in the same number of years that the Liberals have enacted tougher measures. The last time was in 2023, when former justice minister Arif Virani shepherded through legislation aimed at repeat violent offenders and those accused of intimate partner violence, a move that followed calls from premiers and police chiefs, as well as the high-profile shooting death of a 28-year-old Ontario Provincial Police officer, where the accused had been released on bail. At the time, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and other advocacy groups warned that toughening bail access would lead to an increase in the number of individuals who were legally innocent finding themselves in pre-trial detention and exacerbate the country’s already high population of Indigenous and Black people in provincial jails. Fraser told National Post that while public scrutiny is part of what has put the issue around car theft and home invasions on the government’s “radar,” he said it is not the driving force. “Public attention on an issue is one of many factors, but the public attention is not in and of itself what drives it. It’s the public attention that reflects a problem that people see in their communities,” he said. He added the government would be “remiss” to ignore what it has heard from parts of Ontario, even if he says “that may not be the same level of noise” emanating from Pictou County, N.S., where he hails from. Fraser says the proposed Criminal Code changes do not reflect how “the country is more dangerous today than it was yesterday,” given there has been a mix of certain types of crimes increasing, while other parts of the country have shown a more “encouraging trend.” “Law is very much responsive to social changes that take place in communities, he said. “And that’s a strength of a democracy, is that you have the opportunity to take feedback, not from just the people who administer the system, but the people for whom it is administered.” National Post staylor@postmedia.com Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.