441-02294 (Justice)

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 Framework) was developed to reflect the diverse and unique regional circumstances of the provinces and territories in Canada.

The 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 complex issues and underlying root causes of crime 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. In 2022, our Government announced $250 million to 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, we announced $390 million in 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 our global total to over $640 Million from 2022-2028. Our Government will provide this funding, including a $23,120,649 allocation to Manitoba, over the next five years 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 Police-reported crime in rural and urban areas in the Canadian provinces, 2021, have been identified, with officials across the country, for inclusion in the Framework to reflect the diverse nature of rural crime. Those activities are centered 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 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 crimes in rural and remote communities has recently been highlighted by the publication of 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.

In the coming years, FPT officials and Stakeholders will report on the progress of the Framework to FPT Deputy Ministers and Ministers responsible for Justice and Public Safety to inform further action.

Everyone deserves to live in a society where they are safe and feel safe, and to have confidence that the criminal justice system will protect them and work as intended. This principle applies whether they reside in rural, remote, and northern areas or in cities. The Government of Canada is working closely with its provincial and territorial partners to identify ways to better address rural crime and its unique challenges, and recognizes the challenges that victims and survivors of rural crime can face.

Our 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. The Federal Victims Strategy, which is led by Justice Canada, has designed and delivered a wide range of policy and programmatic initiatives to improve access to justice for victims and survivors of crime across the country, as well as specific actions focused on rural and remote communities and northern Canada. 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.

Our Government is also adding significant resources to fight crime and prevent violence from happening in the first place. In 2022, our Government announced new support through the $250 million Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF) to assist municipalities and Indigenous communities prevent gun and gang violence by tackling root causes. In the Spring 2023, our Government announced $390 million over five years to provinces and territories under the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund to help stop gun crime and gang violence before it starts, bringing our global total to over $640 Million from 2022-2028. Our 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. This funding builds 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.

Our Government also introduced Bill C-48, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bail reform), which came into force on January 4, 2024. Bill C-48 enacted changes to the Criminal Code’s bail provisions designed to focus on violent repeat offenders, gun and knife violence, as well as intimate partner violence. The changes aim to promote community safety and reinforce public confidence in the administration of justice. Bill C-48 enacted new reverse onuses at bail to address repeat violent offending involving weapons, including firearms, knives and bear spray, and made additional firearms offences subject to a reverse onus. Bill C-48 also adopted changes at the bail stage to broaden the law’s response to intimate partner violence.

Canada’s bail system is the joint responsibility of federal, provincial and territorial governments. The changes brought by Bill C-48 were the result of ongoing cooperation and collaboration with the provinces and territories who play a critical role in administering the bail system and in ensuring it operates as intended. The reforms were also informed by engagement with other partners and stakeholders, including law enforcement and Indigenous partners. While law reform is an important part of maintaining and enhancing public safety, programs, policies and investments are also critical in fostering safer communities. Everyone in Canada expects the government to tackle crime, as well as the causes of crime. Bill C-48 is part of our broader strategy to ensure the safety of all Canadians and an example of what we can achieve when we work together.

The office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada met with the Mayor of Swan River to discussBill C-48. The discussion highlighted several considerations, including: the challenges posed by repeat violent offenders, the role of the provinces in the administration of bail hearings and the enforcement of bail conditions, the need for increased social supports to lessen involvement in the criminal justice system, and the importance of robust and systematic data gathering and sharing to objectively ensure that the bail system is working as intended.

The Government will continue to create conditions for safer communities by building on past and present investments.