N.L. judge criticizes 'inflammatory rhetoric' on bail reform, as he grants bail to repeat offender

A provincial court judge in Newfoundland and Labrador is speaking up on what he views as dissonance between the bail reform movement and reality.

Judge Andrew Wadden dedicated a significant portion of a bail decision in Harbour Grace on Tuesday to addressing the movement, saying it doesn't fit with what courts are seeing across Canada.

He said more people are in pre-trial custody than ever before, and that opinions are likely shaped by media coverage of releases gone wrong.

"It is those such events that inspire what I view to be inflammatory rhetoric such as ‘jail not bail,’ or ‘catch and release,'" Wadden said.

“The percentage of people in Canada in pre-trial detention continues to go up, yet the demand for bail reform continues to grow louder. These two things are obviously at odds."