Kyla Lee joined the Borderlines podcast to explain how the Canadian criminal justice system actually handles bail, sentencing, and mental health — and to respond to the common perception that the country is soft on crime.
She began with bail, clarifying that most people charged with a crime are released unless the offence is serious or the person has a criminal record. “You’re presumed innocent until proven guilty, and your right to reasonable bail is enshrined in the Charter,” she said. When asked about people being held in custody when they may not even receive a jail sentence, she explained, “Very rarely would somebody be held pending the outcome of their case if the sentence is not likely to include jail.”
On calls for tougher bail laws, Kyla noted, “In a lot of cases where you have a history of violent offenses, the law already says you’re facing a reverse onus.” She added that proposed changes “wouldn’t actually accomplish anything significantly different.”
When the discussion turned to sentencing, Kyla highlighted that Canadian law doesn’t just punish — it considers how to prevent future offences. “Most people come before the courts not because they’re bad people inherently, but because bad things have happened to them or they’re facing some sort of an adversity,” she said.
She also addressed how trauma and mental health are treated during sentencing. “When you tell the judge your client’s story, that’s when you would lay all of that out,” she explained, noting that provincial court judges often rely on their lived experience with repeat offenders in shaping their understanding.
On the issue of involuntary mental health treatment in jails, Kyla was clear: “Nobody ever got better mental health from going to jail.” She described the use of facilities like Surrey Pretrial for psychiatric care as a policy failure that conflates incarceration with healing.
Asked what she would do to improve the system, Kyla emphasized access to housing and support: “I’d build supportive, stable, and dignified housing.” She defined that as “a place that looks like an apartment that feels like yours,” where people aren’t subject to arbitrary rules and can access the resources they need without judgment.
Listen to Kyla Lee on Borderlines • Episode title: “Is Canada Too Soft on Crime?”
