Rural crime plan and bail repeal
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to deliver a detailed plan to curb rural crime and repeal catch‑and‑release policies. The government responds it introduced Bill C‑14, a Rural Crime Framework and funding for prevention.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would create a focused federal plan for rural areas, directing coordination and action to reduce crime that harms safety and local economies.
- Repealing catch‑and‑release policies would aim to make it harder for repeat violent offenders to obtain bail, potentially lowering repeat offending.
- A clear federal commitment could unlock funding and accountability for prevention, enforcement and victim supports in rural communities.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Removing catch‑and‑release rules could limit judicial discretion, risk detaining low‑risk individuals, and raise fairness or legal-rights concerns.
- Criminal justice is largely shared with provinces and territories, so federal mandates may be impractical without coordinated provincial action.
- The petition emphasizes punitive changes rather than underlying causes; some may prefer targeted prevention, social services and local solutions instead.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada WHEREAS The crime rate in Swan River and surrounding area continues to rise and pose a significant threat to public safety, community wellbeing, and economic success; Since 2015, violent crime has increased by 32%, gang-related homicides have increased by 92%, violent, repeat offenders are obtaining bail much more easily, and increasing daily acts of crime and violence are putting Canadians at risk; Swan River's crime severity index - a measure that takes into account how much crime is reported and the seriousness of the crime - increased by over 50% from five years prior; Local businesses should not have to accept the financial and economic consequences of the government's lack of action in addressing crime. We, the undersigned, residents of Swan River and area, call upon the Government of Canada to: Deliver a detailed plan to specifically address the rising rate of crime in rural Canada; Repeal soft-on-crime and catch-and-release policies that have directly contributed to the rising rate of crime in Canada.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Signed by THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY PATRICIA LATTANZIO Everyone deserves to live in a society where they are safe, feel safe, and have confidence that the criminal justice system will protect them and function as intended. This principle applies equally whether they reside in rural, remote, and northern areas or in cities. The Government is working with provincial and territorial governments to improve the experience of victims and survivors of crime in the criminal justice system and to increase access to justice for victims and survivors, including victims of rural crime. On Thursday, October 23rd, 2025, the Government introduced Bill C-14, the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act. The legislation proposes over 80 clauses of targeted changes to the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) and the National Defence Act. The legislation focuses on two main areas of reform, one, stricter bail laws to address violent and repeat offending, and organized crime and two, tougher sentencing laws for serious and violent crimes. The Federal Victims Strategy, led by Justice Canada, has developed and implemented a broad range of policy and program initiatives to improve access to justice for victims and survivors of crime across the country, which includes specific actions focused on rural, remote, and northern communities. Federal Victims Strategy resources will continue to be used to build partnerships within the criminal justice system, across sectors, and across jurisdictions, as well as to increase and enhance access to services. The Government has taken, and will continue to take, concrete action to strengthen Canada’s bail laws. In 2023, Parliament adopted reforms that made it more difficult for repeat violent offenders using firearms and other weapons to obtain bail. These reforms received unanimous support from provincial and territorial governments. The Government remains committed to further strengthening the bail and sentencing regimes to address repeat offending, with a particular focus on crimes such as car theft, home invasions, human trafficking, drug smuggling and offences related to organized crime. In June, the Prime Minister met with Premiers and, together, they recognized the importance of joint efforts to maintain safe and secure communities. Attorneys General and Ministers of Justice and Public Safety were tasked with developing an action plan to promote safe and vibrant communities, and work on this plan is underway. These various measures are intended to target individuals who pose the highest risks to public safety and to respond to concerns raised by Canadians and provincial and territorial partners. The Government is also investing significant resources to fight crime and prevent violence from happening in the first place. In 2022, the previous government announced new support through the $250 million Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF) to assist municipalities and Indigenous communities in addressing the root causes of gun and gang violence. In the Spring 2023, the previous government committed $390 million over five years to provinces and territories through the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund, bringing the total investment to over $640 Million from 2022 to 2028. The Government is providing this funding, including a $23,120,649 allocation to Manitoba, to support a variety of initiatives, including support to prevention programs and law enforcement. These investments build on the success of the initial Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence, announced in 2017, through which provinces and territories received $215 million in funding. Response by the Minister of Public Safety Signed by JACQUES RAMSAY, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY Crime in rural and remote communities, including small towns, farming or fishing communities, and Indigenous communities, is a significant and growing concern for many Canadians across the country. This is why federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) Ministers responsible for justice and public safety, at their January 2020 meeting, committed to examining and addressing the impact of rural crime and ways to reduce it. To undertake this work, and reflective of the shared responsibility of the federal, provincial, and territorial justice and public safety systems, a Pan-Canadian Strategic Framework on Rural Crime (the Rural Crime Framework) was developed to reflect the diverse and unique regional circumstances of the provinces and territories in Canada. The Rural Crime Framework represents the first comprehensive FPT strategy to better understand, address and combat rural crime to ensure that people in Canada living in rural and remote areas feel safe, secure and protected in their communities. It is designed to be wide in scope. It identifies a combination of objectives and strategies seeking to address both immediate actions that can achieve distinct short-term outcomes, as well as medium-to-long-term activities to address the complex causes of crime and issues that require greater levels of resources, time, or consideration. Combined, these objectives and their associated activities seek to result in long-term changes that reduce the incidence of criminal activity in rural and remote communities, including farming, fishing, and Indigenous communities and the northern territories in Canada, and improve the overall safety and well-being of the community. The Government is also adding significant resources to fight crime and prevent violence from happening in the first place. In 2022, $250 million in funding was announced for the Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF) helping municipalities and Indigenous communities to bolster gang-prevention programing to counter the social conditions that lead to criminality. In the Spring 2023, $390 million in funding was announced for programs to provinces and territories under the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund to help stop gun crime and gang violence before it starts, bringing the global total to over $640 Million from 2022 to 2028. The Government will provide this funding, including a $23,120,649 allocation to Manitoba, to support a variety of provincial/territorial initiatives, including support for prevention programs and law enforcement. This funding builds on the success of the initial Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence, announced in 2017. Strategic activities, such as the Aboriginal Community Safety Planning Initiative and the Juristat on Characteristics of police-reported crime in rural areas in the Canadian provinces, 2023, were identified, with officials across the country, for inclusion in the Rural Crime Framework to reflect the diverse nature of rural crime. Those activities are centred around the following seven key strategic areas of focus: Knowledge Development, Prevention, Drug Interdiction, Addressing Victim Needs, Offender Management, Criminal Process Reform, and Enhanced Enforcement Practices. The Rural Crime Framework is a living document developed under the guidance and expertise of justice and public safety officials across the country, and co-exists with a number of other key federal, and/or provincial and territorial initiatives and priorities designed to specifically target and address key issues highlighted in this Framework. These strategies include the Government of Canada’s Gender-Based Violence Strategy, the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and additional sexual orientations and gender identities (2SLGBTQQIA+) People National Action Plan. This is reflective of the diverse nature, impacts and causes of rural crime, and the complex, comprehensive measures necessary to combat it. The seriousness of the issue surrounding crime in rural and remote communities was in the final report of the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC), Turning the Tide Together, on March 30, 2023. This report presents relevant findings for rural and remote communities, such as the existence of urban bias in policy making and service delivery contributing to inadequate public infrastructure and services in rural communities. As part of its response to the MCC recommendations, in Budget 2024 the Government of Canada announced a $4 million investment over 5 years and $800 thousand ongoing to implement and renew federal initiatives under the Rural Crime Framework. These new initiatives will contribute to knowledge development and respond to growing needs for data and evidence around patterns and trends in rural crime in Canada. The Government is also investing $33.7 million over 5 years and $6.1 million ongoing to enhance the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Operational Coordination Centre (ROCC). The ROCC is a state-of-the-art facility that was designed for the coordination of major crises, to provide advanced capacity for geospatial mapping, to respond to air incidents, to facilitate interagency information and intelligence sharing, as well as to help plan for and support operational readiness across the organization. The funding will provide dedicated capacity to support exercise planning, incident management, and post-incident training and support in rural and urban areas.