Lawyers criticize remand law proposal

But feds say inmates don't deserve double credit for time spent waiting for trial

FREDERICTON - Local lawyers say the province's detention centres are too crowded to handle the extra time inmates will be spending in federal prisons and provincial jails as a result of changes to federal law.

The federal government introduced legislation yesterday that would eliminate the two-for-one sentencing credit given to those who spend time in jail before conviction.

The double-time credit has been given to criminals who await trial in provincial jails.

If the legislation is passed, judges would be allowed to give a credit worth one-and-a-half the time served in special circumstances.

But local defence lawyer Hazen Brien said the move will add pressure to a system that is already overcrowded.

"We just don't have the room," he said. "If you cancel the two-for-one, you're going to increase the population you have in jail. It will not, in any way, shape or form, speed the system up."

A sentence of more than two years means a criminal will be spending time in a federal prison.

But some inmates in New Brunswick are serving shorter sentences in federal institutions, said Brien.

That's because the province has an agreement with the federal government to transfer some inmates serving a sentence between a year and two-years-less-a-day to federal prisons.

The provincial Department of Public Safety said there are roughly 40 inmates in federal prisons in New Brunswick under that partnership.

The agreement gives inmates a wider variety of programs and also helps address overcrowding in provincial jails, the department said.

But Rob Moore, Fundy-Royal Conservative MP, said the federal government will ensure the system is capable of handling the additional demand.

"We are going to take the steps necessary to make sure that our federal correctional system is prepared to handle any additional demands on it by this and any other legislation that we've passed to improve our justice system," he said.

Moore said people need to look beyond the financial cost of improving the system.

"What is the cost to society to have people that should be in jail out on the streets?" Moore said.

"What is the cost to victims that have been victimized by individuals that they should be protected from?"

The credit is given because the provincial jails where criminals await trial lack programming available in federal institutions, said Brien.

Individuals awaiting trial are placed in holding cells and have little opportunity to leave them, he added.

However, Moore said the existing policy encourages lawyers to extend a trial for as long as possible in order for their client to earn a longer credit.

Moore said the new system also benefits victims.

"This is fair, it's fair to Canadians," he said.

But Brien said judges aren't required to give the credit. As well, any unreasonable delays caused by the defence waive a criminal's chance to receive the credit, he added.

"It's an extreme rarity that individuals are going to use remand as a method of bringing down the sentence," he said.

Local lawyer Brian Maude said if individuals can't receive the credit, there might be more people requesting bail.

"I've yet to meet a criminal client who's said 'drag this out so I can spend more time waiting in lock-up,'" he said.