FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 October 2025
QUEEN’S PARK — Today, Karen McCrimmon, MPP for Kanata—Carleton and Ontario Liberal Critic for Public Safety, Cybersecurity & Crime Prevention, and Solicitor General, released the following statement in response to the Prime Minister’s new measures to combat crime:
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to strengthen Canada’s Criminal Code and hire 1,000 additional RCMP officers is a strong federal initiative — but it won’t work unless Doug Ford properly funds Ontario’s justice system.
Ontario’s courts and jails are in crisis. Criminal cases are being thrown out because they exceed the Jordan timeline for reasonable delay — 18 months in provincial court and 30 months in superior court. Victims are being denied justice, while 80 percent of people in Ontario’s jails are still awaiting trial, not serving sentences.
Our Chief Justice has warned of a system ‘in crisis,’ and she’s right. Courtrooms are chronically understaffed, with too few judges and Justices of the Peace to manage ballooning caseloads. Many provincial jails are operating at 150 percent capacity, and the Ontario Ombudsman’s latest report documented a 55 percent increase in complaints and serious incidents inside correctional facilities.
The federal government deserves credit for taking meaningful action to strengthen community safety. We hope this leadership inspires Premier Ford to finally get Ontario’s justice system back on track — by hiring the judges, funding the courts, and investing in the correctional system needed to keep violent offenders off our streets.