Ontario Premier Doug Ford is blasting judges in the province who he perceives as being soft on crime, and is floating ideas such as judges running for election and offering them payouts to retire early.
Ford was at Peel Regional Police headquarters to announce measures on bail in an upcoming justice bill, though he says the most meaningful bail reform actions must come from the federal government.
The bill is set to include changes to the judicial appointments process, and when asked about that today, Ford ranted about judges and justices of the peace who give people bail multiple times.
Ford says some judges have a sense of entitlement, and it's wrong that they are "constantly overruling" the policies of a democratically elected government.
He says maybe the problem is that judges are appointed instead of elected, like in the United States.
Ford also calls the idea of judicial independence "a joke," saying all judicial appointments are political appointments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.