BAIL, HEARINGS AND RELEASE ORDERS
Release Orders
Mechanisms for release of a person charged with an offence in Canada are promulgated in Sections 493 to 526 of the Criminal Code of Canada. LINK to sections in CCC.
Release Options
The Criminal Code provides for a range of release options:
* For less serious offences, a police officer may issue an appearance notice on the spot for an accused person to appear in court, without arrest. (CCC sections 497, 499)
* Once arrested, for all but the most serious offences (listed in section 469 of the Criminal Code) a suspect may be released at the discretion of the police by providing the suspect with an appearance notice or requiring him/her to provide an undertaking with conditions (CCC section 498)
* An arrested suspect who is not released on an appearance notice or undertaking, must be taken before a judge for a bail hearing within twenty-four hours of arrest(CCC section 503)
Bail Hearings
For all but the most serious offences (listed in section 469—murder etc), the initial bail hearing is held in the Ontario Court of Justice (lower court). For murder and other section 469 offences, the initial bail hearing must be before judge of the Superior Court of Justice.
At the bail hearing the accused must be released unless detention is necessary on at least one of the following three grounds:
1) Where detention is necessary to ensure attendance in court (primary ground; section 515 (10)(a))
2) Where detention is necessary for the protection of the public (secondary ground; section 515(10)(b))
3) Where detention is necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice (tertiary ground; section 515(10)(c))
Despite the progressive-sounding structure of the release and bail provisions of the Criminal Code, there is an acute problem in Canada with over-incarceration of individuals awaiting trial.
As the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has shown in its 2024 research paper Still Failing—The Deepening Crisis of Bail and Pre-Trial Detention in Canada the proportion of inmates in Canadian detention centres awaiting trial (rather than serving a sentence) is over 70%. In Ontario, the worst-performing province in this regard, a shocking 78.9% of inmates in detention centres are in pre-trial detention.
David G. Bayliss and Luka Rados have conducted hundreds of bail hearings with an excellent success rate, including for the most serious of allegations, such as murder. See Successful Cases.
