Deliver rural crime plan

AI summary

Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to deliver a detailed plan to address rising rural crime and repeal catch-and-release bail policies deemed soft-on-crime. The government responds it introduced Bill C-14 and funds prevention programs.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Government of Canada WHEREAS The crime rate in Dauphin and the Parkland Region continues to 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; 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 Dauphin and the Parkland Region, 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 23, 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: (1) stricter bail laws to address violent and repeat offending, and organized crime, and (2) tougher sentencing laws for serious and violent crimes. Bill C-14 received Royal Assent on June 15, 2026. 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. Our Government is also adding significant resources to fight crime and prevent violence from happening in the first place. Through the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS), Public Safety Canada invests over $47 million annually in the implementation of community-based crime prevention efforts. Projects funded through the NCPS funding programs aim to reduce risk factors associated with crime and build protective factors among vulnerable children, youth, and young adults; prevent youth violence; and foster crime prevention in Northern and Indigenous communities. The focus of the NCPS is on influencing the behaviours that can increase the likelihood of criminality, effectively working to address all types of crime. Accordingly, the NCPS focuses on children, youth, and young adults between the ages of 6-30. Current priorities of the NCPS include: direct interventions that reduce the harmful factors that lead youth to get involved in violent criminal activity, such as gun violence and auto theft; direct interventions that prevent bullying and cyberbullying; and strengthening community readiness for Indigenous populations. Over the last 5 years, Public Safety Canada has invested $17.7 million to support community-based crime prevention NCPS projects in Manitoba. In 2022, the federal government announced $250 million for the Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF) to empower municipalities and Indigenous communities to bolster gang-prevention programming and address the social conditions that lead to criminality. This is complimented by the 2023 to 2028 renewal of the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence (ITAAGGV). Initially funded for five years from 2018 to 2023 with $356.1 million, the renewal provided an additional $390.6 million to help provinces and territories stop gun crime before it starts. As part of this comprehensive federal strategy, Manitoba has been allocated $14,868,024.05 under the BSCF and $23,120,649 through the ITAAGGV’s Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund to support vital provincial initiatives, including prevention programs and law enforcement enhancements. 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 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. In addition, Bill C-14, the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, was introduced in October 2025 and delivers on the Government’s commitment to enhance Canada’s bail system and makes important changes to sentencing. This legislation proposes sweeping reforms to make bail laws stricter and sentencing laws tougher for repeat and violent offenders, support the front lines, and invest in long-term crime prevention. Bill C-14 proposes over 80 targeted amendments to the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defence Act. With respect to bail in particular, it would create new reverse onus provisions for some of the most serious cases, would require courts to consider specific factors, including if the allegations involved random or unprovoked violence and if the accused has any outstanding charges, as well as set stricter conditions, including weapons bans. It is important to emphasize that the effectiveness of these legislative changes relies on continued collaboration with provincial, territorial and municipal partners, particularly in managing and resourcing key areas of the justice system under their jurisdiction including policing, prosecutions, bail processes, courts and victim services. Bill C-14 is but one in a series of reforms to strengthen community safety and Canada’s justice system. Most recently, in December 2025, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-16, the Victims Protection Act, to further address court delays, strengthen victims’ rights, better protect people facing sexual and intimate partner violence, and keep children safe from crimes. Legislative measures, such as C-14 and C-16, are complemented by non-legislative measures. These measures include efforts to prevent crime, to address its underlying causes, and to ensure that rehabilitation and community supervision are effective and safe. At the same time, the Government of Canada is exploring initiatives which put in place new resources and modernized tools for frontline law enforcement and prosecutors.