OTTAWA — Federal Conservatives are blaming Liberal bail policies after four people accused of assaulting two Montreal police officers were released pending trial.The attack occurred Monday during a police intervention in Montreal.Two officers were allegedly struck during the confrontation, while one of the accused attempted to seize the officers’ service weapons.Four suspects were arrested and subsequently released while their cases proceed through the courts.Conservative justice critic Arpan Khanna, public safety critic Frank Caputo and Quebec lieutenant Pierre Paul-Hus condemned the attack in a joint statement Friday.“This week, we were again shocked to hear of yet another attack on our law enforcement officers,” they said.“On Monday, two Montreal police officers were assaulted, with one of those charged attempting to seize the officers’ weapons.”.The Conservatives said attacks against police officers and other first responders were becoming “all too common.”“These violent attacks against the men and women who work every day to keep our people safe are unacceptable,” they said.“But what’s more unacceptable is that once again, we have seen that Liberal bail has tipped the scales of justice in favour of violent criminals, with those charged for this assault on officers being immediately released on bail.”The allegations against the four accused have not been proven in court.The attack came little more than a month after Montreal police Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane was killed while responding to an active-shooter incident in Côte-des-Neiges.Benredouane, 34, was shot on June 22 after police were called to reports of an armed man at a hotel. A civilian was also killed and another officer was seriously injured.The gunman was killed during an exchange of fire with police.Toronto police Const. Marc Pinizzotto was killed less than two weeks earlier while executing a high-risk search warrant in North York.The Conservatives also pointed to the recent arrest of a man who was serving a life sentence for the 1980 murder of Toronto police Constable Michael Sweet but had been released on parole.Sweet was shot after responding to a robbery and held captive while seriously wounded. He died before police could reach him.“Canadians deserve safe streets, and criminals deserve to know that if you attack a police officer, you will find yourself in a jail cell for a long time,” the Conservative statement said.The party has repeatedly called for changes to federal bail law, including the removal of what it describes as the Liberal “principle of restraint,” which directs courts to prioritize release at the earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous appropriate conditions.“Conservatives will always stand with law enforcement and first responders,” the statement said.“We will deliver a safe and secure country that finally puts law-abiding Canadians first by repealing Liberal bail for real and for good.”
