Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers are saying enough is enough after a British Columbia woman was allegedly killed by a man released from jail on bail days earlier. Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging that he revisit bail reform following the death of 30-year-old Tori Dunn in Surrey, B.C.
The letter follows a similar one penned in January of last year.
“Tori Dunn’s alleged killer was released from jail just days before the fatal assault, despite a long criminal history and current criminal charges for an unrelated robbery. Provincial prosecutors had urged that he not be released into the community. Clearly, in this case, Bill C-48 failed to keep a violent offender from posing a serious risk to public safety,” reads the letter.
The 40-year-old charged with Dunn’s murder, Adam Troy Mann, was homeless and living in a tent in the bush in Chilliwack, B.C. after being released on bail following two robbery charges.
He had also previously completed a federal prison sentence, where parole records claimed he “barely missed the criteria for being diagnosed as a psychopath,” according to CBC.
According to other documents obtained by CTV News, Mann’s application for parole from his initial sentence accompanied a psychological risk assessment, which concluded he had a 76% chance to violently reoffend.
The letter follows the recent conclusion of the 2024 Council of the Federation in Halifax, where they all met and criticized federal overreach.
The letter cited various instances of individuals being arrested and rearrested after bail release.
“We urge the federal government to consider any necessary changes related to both bail and sentencing, including further legislative amendments,” reads the letter.
Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP Graham McGregor recently spoke after a different investigation into carjacking and home invasions resulted in over 150 charges being laid. He noted that several of the suspects were arrested while released on bail.
“I hear from police regularly about catching the same criminal three, four, five, six, seven, eight times. And to hear that today police are arresting the same people who’ve already been previously arrested breaks my heart,” said McGregor.
Peel Police Service Board Chair Nando Iannicca cited a recent example following a record-setting gun seizure in Peel.
“It sounds like a joke… We’ve talked about the problem with car thefts, but (this) actually happened here in our GTA jurisdiction. Some guy’s up before a judge for having a stolen car, gets let off (on bail), and went into the parking lot courthouse and stole another car. You can’t make this stuff up,” said Iannicca.
The National Police Federation made a similar call to the Liberals to implement data-driven bail decision-making. Among these recommendations made by the federation were six others to improve the bail system.
Some of the requests made by Canada’s premiers in their Jan. 2023 letter were implemented as amendments to Bill C-48 in Dec. 2023, such as implementing a reverse onus on those facing charges to prove why they should be released on bail.
However, in Monday’s letter, the premiers said that more work needs to be done.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre previously pledged to end Canada’s catch-and-release bail system.
