Kyla Lee interviewed on CKNW: The Federal Liberals are plotting an audacious justice system overhaul, and do the laws around impaired driving (and appeals) need to change?

The Liberal government has introduced legislation to overhaul the criminal justice system.  If passed, this bill would eliminate the use of peremptory challenges, which allow lawyers to reject jury candidates during selection.  The bill includes other measures aimed at tackling court backlogs plaguing the criminal justice system, including by restricting the use of preliminary inquiries.

The bill will also address a Liberal campaign promise to crack down on intimate partner violence, including by reversing the onus on bail for those previously convicted of violence against a current or former spouse, common-law partner or dating partner.

When asked about the plans to eliminate the use of peremptory challenges, Lee said: “I think that this is a classic example of government going in with a hacksaw when they should be going in with a scalpel.”

She added: “Introducing legislation that strips away not only the ability of the prosecution to effectively run cases, bu this also strips away the ability of defense to effectively defend their client as a knee-jerk reaction to one case is very, very dangerous for our justice system.”

While discussing Bill C-46 and the issue of marijuana legalization and impaired driving, Lee said: “We don’t have the science in dealing with marijuana and driving that we did when we imposed the Immediate Roadside Prohibition scheme. The science isn’t there, it’s a hundred years behind . it may never get there because it may not work out that way.”
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