The Trudeau government is proposing changes to Canada’s bail system that it claims would make it harder for anyone accused of certain offences to be let out on bail.

Bill C-48 would change the Criminal Code so that those charged with a serious violent offence involving a weapon who were convicted of a similar offence within the last five years would face a ”reverse onus” to get bail.

That means the accused would have to show why they should be released instead of the prosecution having to prove that they should stay in jail.

The legislation would also expand the use of reverse onus for firearm and intimate partner violence offences, and allows courts to take community safety into considering and an accused’s history of violence when making a bail decision.

While the Canadian Police Association welcomes the changes, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the proposed reforms do not go far enough.

”This bill does not raise the bar.  It simply puts in a bunch of lower bars underneath the bar that is already there,” says Poilievre.

”A common sense Conservative government will reverse Trudeau’s catch-and-release.”