Premiers send letter to feds demanding bail reform after homicide

Canada’s premiers have sent a letter to the prime minister demanding a thorough review of the bail system after the homicide of a Surrey, B.C., woman.

Tori Dunn, 30, was killed in her home on June 16. Her death prompted an outpouring of grief in the Metro Vancouver suburb.

The man who has been arrested in the killing, Adam Troy Mann, was released from jail just days before the fatal assault despite a lengthy criminal history and current criminal charges for an unrelated robbery.

Dunn’s killing, along with what premiers say is a trend of “repeat and violent offenders being released into our communities without proper considerations,” has prompted them to call on Ottawa to thoroughly review the bail system.

In particular, the provincial and territorial leaders want the federal government to look at bail reform Bill C-48 passed earlier this year.

The letter says the reforms it implemented failed to prevent a violent offender from posing a public safety threat, and the federal government needs to review the bail data since the bill was implemented.

“Police services should not have to chase the same criminal three or four times because of an inadequate bail system,” the letter reads. “This not only represents a drain on policing resources but is a hindrance to public safety.”

B.C. Premier David Eby, speaking at an unrelated news conference on Monday, said the letter arose from the Council of the Federation meeting in Halifax last week and follows a similar letter sent last year.

“[The letter is] asking, in a very straightforward way, that they look at the implementation of these new bail laws,” Eby said.

“That they put in place to address gaps that are clearly taking place, and to see if there are ways to work with the judiciary to ensure that the laws are being implemented as intended.”

CBC News has reached out to Public Safety Canada for this story.

Bill had promised tougher bail rules

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma has previously said prosecutors argued for Mann to be kept behind bars.

The reasons why he was given bail in the robbery case are protected by a publication ban.

But politicians and Dunn’s family have questioned how he was able to get bail, with Bill C-48 introducing new provisions to address repeat violent offenders.

The new rules shift the burden of proof onto an accused to justify their release from prison in a situation where someone accused of a serious offence involving violence and a weapon has been convicted in the past five years of an offence with the same criteria.