Our government will always have the backs of the men and women who bravely serve to protect our communities.
Today, Premier Ford issued a letter calling on the federal government to take stronger action to protect our police officers, including:
Introducing a mandatory minimum sentence of six months for individuals who resist arrest, assault a police officer, or flee from a police officer when they cause bodily harm or endanger the life or safety of another person;
Amending the Criminal Code to increase the parole ineligibility period upon conviction for the first-degree murder of a police officer from 25 to 30 years;
Stronger penalties for offences committed by youth against police officers that involve violence;
Reforming legislation to address gun violence in congregate settings by classifying murders committed in these settings as first-degree murder and increasing parole ineligibility to two-thirds of a sentence for offenders, and any parties to the offence, who discharge a firearm in a congregate setting;
Amending federal intelligence sharing policies and practices as they relate to the disclosure of threats to law enforcement personnel and amend federal lawful access legislation to permit judicially authorized access to encrypted communications; and
Creating a new standalone offence for violent home invasions with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and require that anyone convicted of a home invasion and other related offences from the same incident serve those sentences consecutively rather than concurrently.
This builds on the action our government has already taken to protect police officers, including investing more than $1 billion to support police services and give officers the equipment, technology and resources they need to stay safe and keep our communities safe.
Keeping police officers safe also means keeping dangerous offenders behind bars. We’ve led the fight for tougher bail laws and are investing $3 billion to expand Ontario’s correctional system.
We’re also supporting those who protect us, with $32 million for specialized mental health supports for police officers, first responders and public safety personnel.
And we’re investing more than $190 million in seven new police helicopters, giving frontline officers state-of-the-art air support to respond faster and keep communities safe.