New SCC Decision Changes the Right to Reasonable Bail in Canada

R. v. Antic, 2017 SCC 27, changed the landscape of judicial interim release in Canada. With Antic, the Supreme Court of Canada reestablished the presumption of innocence and the necessity for reasonable bail based on individual circumstances.

Bail hearings are an expedited process in our country and our highest Court confirmed the two rights of an accused at the pre-trial stage: the right not to be denied bail without just cause and the right to a reasonable bail. The reasonableness relates to the quantum and terms of restrictions of a bail order.

Antic provided new directives to bail courts. The Court made it clear that unconditional release is the default position and imposed a ladder principle which places a burden on the Crown to show why restrictive forms of release should be imposed. The presumption is release on an undertaking with no conditions at the earliest reasonable opportunity. The new directive provided by the Court strengthens the rights of the accused and places a higher burden on the Crown.

For a link to the full decision, see: https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/16649/index.do

The content made available on this website has been provided solely for general informational purposes as of the date published and should NOT be treated as or relied upon as legal advice. It is not to be construed as a representation, warranty, or guarantee, and may not be accurate, current, complete, or fit for a particular purpose or circumstance. If you are seeking legal advice, a professional at Pushor Mitchell LLP would be pleased to assist you in resolving your legal concerns in the context of your particular circumstances.

It is prohibited to reproduce, modify, republish, or in any way use content from this website without express written permission from the Chief Operating Officer or the Managing Partner at Pushor Mitchell LLP. Third party content that references this publication is not endorsed by Pushor Mitchell LLP and in no way represents the views of the firm. We do not guarantee the accuracy of, nor accept responsibility for the content of any source that may link, quote, or reference this publication.

Please read and understand our full Website Terms of Use and Disclaimer here.

Legal Alert, Pushor Mitchell’s free monthly e-newsletter