Ford calls for more time in jail for violence against police and threats to public safety

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has urged the federal government to extend prison sentences for crimes against police officers and threats to public safety. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ford proposes increasing parole eligibility from 25 years to 30 years for those convicted of killing a police officer. He also seeks stronger penalties for youth offenses involving violence against police.

Current Canadian law mandates a mandatory life sentence with no parole eligibility for 25 years for killing a police officer. Ford believes this limit should be raised to 30 years. He advocates for legislation changes requiring an automatic first-degree murder charge for murder or discharging a firearm in a communal setting, as well as increasing parole eligibility to two-thirds of the sentence.

Ford also supports a new standalone offence for violent home invasions, with a maximum sentence of life in prison, and consecutive sentences for related offenses committed during the same incident. Additionally, he wants to expand drone restrictions to cover correctional facilities and police locations, and change federal law to permit access to encrypted communications.