Manitoba municipalities demand bail reform from next federal government

Ian Froese · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 3:19 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Municipal leaders successful Manitoba accidental they're fed up with a bail strategy they reason is excessively lenient — and they privation whoever forms the adjacent national authorities to hole it. 

Elected officials from 3 communities took the microphone astatine an Association of Manitoba Municipalities quality league Tuesday and shared examples of crimes allegedly committed by suspects released connected bail. 

Portage la Prairie Mayor Sharilyn Knox spoke of Kellie Verwey, who was killed earlier this twelvemonth by an alleged drunk operator who had a warrant retired for his arrest.

Verwey was the city's economical improvement officer.

"This calamity has affected maine deeply, not lone successful my relation arsenic mayor, but arsenic a subordinate of my assemblage who knew the victim, saw the symptom first-hand and, arsenic a leader, carries the value of that loss," Knox said.

There's a increasing consciousness among Manitobans that unsafe individuals are receiving much chances than they deserve, she said.

"We volition not halt speaking out. We volition not halt pushing for change."

Lac du Bonnet Reeve Loren Schinkel, a retired constabulary officer, has seen the policing assemblage alteration implicit the decades.

These days, he's heard that officers are devoting excessively overmuch clip rearresting people who were precocious released from custody.

Bail "protects the presumption of innocence," Schinkel said, "but the equilibrium is mode off."

Brandon Coun. Bruce Luebke said the city's police unit has laid astir 3,300 charges related to bail violations implicit a three-year period, successful a metropolis of astir 51,000 people.

Many residents "have commented to maine astir however they set their beingness based connected whether they consciousness harmless to spell retired astatine a circumstantial clip oregon to a circumstantial place," helium said.

"These are not however our residents should person to unrecorded their mundane lives."

Municipal officials, speaking during a interruption successful the Association of Manitoba Municipalities' outpouring normal successful Winnipeg, accidental the existent national predetermination is an accidental to marque their case. 

Too galore released: erstwhile officer

Schinkel said he'd entertain immoderate predetermination promises that vow to make criminals "more accountable" for their actions.

"I think there's an onus erstwhile it comes to nationalist information crossed Canada that's been missed by the erstwhile government, rather frankly," helium said.

AMM president Kathy Valentino said "our connection is clear: we privation the committedness to beryllium a alteration successful bail reform, and we privation municipalities with their stories to beryllium astatine the array to marque it beryllium the close change."

Last week, information footage circulated online of equipped radical in a farmyard adjacent to MacGregor, Man.

While it's not known if the suspects were retired connected bail, a drawstring of crimes reported astatine a fewer properties has enactment country residents connected precocious alert.

Last week, Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe highlighted much than $5 cardinal the authorities has precocious committed to code agrarian transgression issues. Some of the backing volition enactment an RCMP portion that uses specialized grooming and instrumentality to resoluteness high-risk situations.

On Tuesday, Wiebe reaffirmed the province's demand for bail reform. Justice ministers crossed the state wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney successful March to telephone connected him to act.