Ontario's Premier Accountability Dashboard · Queen's Park Watch
Shakir Rahim
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Director of the Criminal Justice Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), who raised jurisdictional concerns about Bill 75's mandatory cash bail provision.
Connected Scandals
Bill 75, branded the "Keeping Criminals Behind Bars Act," got Royal Assent in May 2026 with a buried Bail Act schedule requiring accused people or their sureties to post the full cash bail amount upfront in every case — scrapping the traditional 10% recognizance system that has kept bail accessible for decades. Legal experts call it an unconstitutional two-tier justice system that punishes poverty, not crime.
Raised jurisdictional concerns on behalf of the CCLA about Ontario legislating into the federally-governed area of bail procedure.