CCLA launching Charter challenge against new Ontario bail regulations

Posted August 17, 2026 2:13 pm

1 min read

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is launching a Charter challenge against the Ford government’s new bail regulations.

The new regulations require sureties to pay security deposits up front within two business days.

The government also gave itself new powers to collect those payments in different ways, including property liens and the seizure and sale of property.

Previously, most bail cases proceeded with a “promise to pay” from sureties, rather than an immediate payment. The new measures took effect Monday.

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In a statement, the CCLA said it will launch this Charter challenge next week, saying “a cash bail system creates two tiers of justice: one for the rich, and the other for the rest of us.”

The organization says the new bail regulations violate the Constitution, saying “criminal procedure is a federal power under the Constitution. The federal Criminal Code sets out that a justice has discretion on whether to order a security deposit. The province cannot rewrite federal law. Neither can the province violate the Charter right not to be denied reasonable bail.”

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The CCLA also voiced concern about issues such as overcrowding in Ontario jails due to fewer sureties meeting the province’s more stringent payment timeline to bail out accused persons.

This becomes the latest law created by the Ford government to be challenged against the Charter. Other notable challenges include one launched by EcoJustice against the government’s plans for special economic zones, and a successful challenge to the removal of bike lanes in downtown Toronto that was overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal last week.