Canada Needs a Real Review of Its Criminal Justice System—Before the Trends Get Worse

Canada Needs a Real Review of Its Criminal Justice System—Before the Trends Get Worse by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East Canadians have long taken comfort in the idea that we live in one of the safest societies in the world. For decades this belief was supported by the numbers: violent crime steadily declined from the early 1990s onward, and homicides rarely reached the levels seen elsewhere. But the recent trajectory of serious crime—especially youth violence and non-homicide assaults—suggests that this old narrative no longer reflects the full reality on the ground. It is time for a sober, evidence-based review of Canada’s criminal justice system. Not a political slogan, not a reflexive “tough on crime” or “soft on crime” posture, but a genuine national assessment of what is working, what is failing, and what must be fixed to protect the public while maintaining fairness and due process. The starting point is the data. While Canada’s homicide rate actually declined last year, the overall Crime Severity Index, which measures both the volume and seriousness of police-reported crime, continues to rise. More troubling is the sharp increase in violent offences committed by youth. Police services across the country report more stabbings, swarming attacks, and group-related assaults by minors—crimes that not only shock communities but expose weaknesses in prevention, supervision, and early intervention. Non-homicide violence is also climbing. Assaults, armed robberies, carjackings, and gun-related incidents connected to organized crime have increased in several major cities. These are not isolated events. They are indicators of a criminal ecosystem in which a relatively small number of repeat offenders, gang-affiliated networks, and hard-to-supervise youth are driving a disproportionate amount of the harm. Yet our justice system still operates as if this pattern does not exist. Instead of a coordinated national strategy, we have a patchwork of bail rules, sentencing practices, and provincial policies that vary widely and often lack the resources to be effective. Police officers arrest the same violent offenders again and again, only to see them quickly return to the streets. Courts struggle with backlogs, prosecutors are overloaded, and probation and parole services are stretched beyond their limits. In too many cases, the result is predictable: a system that looks busy but does not deliver the level of public safety Canadians reasonably expect. One area urgently needing scrutiny is bail. Although reforms have tightened reverse-onus provisions for certain violent and firearms offences, the concern from police services across the country remains the same: high-risk repeat offenders are cycling through the system far too easily. Bail decisions are often made within minutes, with incomplete information, in crowded courtrooms that lack the personnel and time required to make properly informed assessments. This is not about punishing the innocent; it is about ensuring the system has the capacity to evaluate risk accurately and consistently. Sentencing and parole also require careful review. Canada must confront the fact that a small fraction of offenders are responsible for a disproportionate amount of serious, violent, and organized crime. For these groups, sentencing ranges, parole eligibility, and supervision models must reflect the real level of threat they pose. The goal is not mass incarceration, but targeted, effective incapacitation of those who consistently endanger the public. At the same time, a credible review must address prevention—not as an afterthought, but as a central pillar. The rise in youth violence is not merely a policing issue. It is connected to social dislocation, mental-health pressures, school disengagement, online radicalization, and the easy influence of criminal peer networks. Without early intervention, mentorship programs, addiction treatment, and collaboration between schools, communities, and justice agencies, the pipeline into criminality will continue unchecked. Canada also needs transparent, standardized national data on recidivism, bail breaches, weapons offences, gang activity, and case backlogs. Without reliable metrics, governments fall back on ideology rather than facts. A justice system that does not measure outcomes cannot improve them. This is why a full review is not just necessary—it is overdue. Canadians deserve a system that protects them while respecting rights, one that distinguishes between those who need treatment, those who need supervision, and those who must be separated from society for the safety of others. The current mix of rising serious crime, growing youth involvement, and administrative overload shows that the status quo is neither sustainable nor responsible. A national review, carried out with integrity and led by independent experts, would allow Canada to build a criminal justice system worthy of its reputation: firm where necessary, fair where possible, and focused always on the safety of its people. In conclusion, Canadians rightly expect a justice system that protects their families, supports victims, rehabilitates those who can be rehabilitated, and isolates those who pose a continuing threat to society. Today’s mixture of rising serious crime, overstretched courts, uneven policing resources, and growing youth violence shows that the current system is not meeting those expectations. A national review—independent, comprehensive, and driven by evidence rather than partisanship—offers the best path forward. Such a review would strengthen public safety, restore confidence in the justice system, and ensure Canada remains the safe, fair, and orderly country it has long aspired to be. With so many lawyers in the Parliament of Canada, that should be a relatively easy task, partisanship aside. This moment calls for leadership and clarity. Canada cannot afford complacency. The trends are unmistakable, the consequences are real, and the need for action is immediate. An evidence-based national review—supported by the many legal minds in Parliament and guided by a genuine commitment to public safety—would allow Canada to modernize its justice system before the problems become so entrenched they become cancerous.