Bill 75, Keeping Criminals Behind Bars Act, 2025

Summary#

Bill 75 makes wide changes to Ontario laws on bail, road safety, animal welfare, coroner inquests, police record checks, and a scholarship fund for families of fallen public safety officers. The stated goal is to keep dangerous people off the streets, protect animals, support grieving families, and set clearer rules for records and inquests.

• Tougher bail enforcement: the province can register liens on property pledged by a surety (the person who promises money to the court) and sell that property if the debt is not paid; most liens expire after six years.
• Road safety: new and longer driver’s licence suspensions, vehicle impoundments, and higher fines, especially for dangerous driving, careless driving, driving while suspended, and distracted driving in commercial trucks.
• Animal welfare: bans invasive medical research on cats and dogs (with narrow exceptions), adds strict rules for any other research on these animals, and blocks breeding cats or dogs for research by suppliers; raises fines for harming police animals.
• Police record checks: limits when older minor convictions can be shown and lets the government set service standards for how fast checks are done.
• Coroner inquests: bans photos, videos, and most recordings at inquests and bans publishing them, with narrow exceptions.
• Keeps and formalizes a scholarship fund for spouses and children of public safety officers who died in the line of duty.

What it means for you#

• Drivers

  • If you are convicted of dangerous driving causing death, your driver’s licence can be suspended indefinitely.
  • Police can suspend your licence and impound your vehicle right away if they believe you drove dangerously or carelessly.
  • If you drive while suspended, you face higher fines, longer suspensions, and your vehicle can be impounded for longer.
  • If you drive with a visible display screen or hold a device while driving a commercial truck or bus, fines go up, and you can face a licence suspension.

• Commercial drivers and trucking companies

  • Higher fines for distracted driving in commercial motor vehicles.
  • More risk of vehicle impoundment and driver suspensions after roadside stops.
  • Possible staffing and scheduling impacts if drivers are sidelined.

• People seeking bail and their families (sureties)

  • If you act as a surety (you promise to pay if the accused breaks bail rules), the province can register a lien against your land for the promised amount.
  • If the court orders that money is owed and it is not paid, the province can sell the property to collect.
  • Most liens end after six years if certain conditions are met.
  • If a release order says money must be paid if rules are broken, the accused or surety must pay that amount if there is a breach.

• Families of fallen public safety officers

  • The scholarship fund that helps spouses and children after an officer dies in the line of duty is kept in law.
  • Clearer rules for who qualifies and how funds are given; the government can add other cases by regulation.

• Researchers, labs, and animal suppliers

  • Invasive medical research on cats and dogs is banned, except for specific, narrow cases set by law.
  • Other research on these animals is allowed only if strict conditions are met and overseen by animal care committees.
  • Registered supply facilities cannot breed cats or dogs for research.
  • New offence categories and penalties apply for breaking these rules.

• Pet owners and animal welfare advocates

  • Harsher penalties for harming animals that work with police and for service animals.
  • For harming an animal that works with peace officers, the minimum fine rises to $50,000; maximum fines increase and are the same for all offences (individuals up to $260,000; corporations up to $1,000,000).

• People attending or reporting on coroner inquests

  • No photos, videos, or most recordings at inquests; no publishing of such records.
  • Some exceptions apply (for example, notes, sketches, some approved recordings).
  • Breaking these rules is a criminal offence under provincial law.

• Job seekers, students, and volunteers needing police record checks

  • Certain older minor convictions (offences that can only be prosecuted as minor offences) will not be shown if more than five years old.
  • Police services must follow set service standards for how they process checks, once standards are issued.
  • Some legal claims for not meeting those service standards are limited.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Makes streets safer by cracking down on dangerous and careless driving and distracted driving in trucks.
• Holds accused people and sureties accountable, so bail has real consequences if rules are broken.
• Protects animals by banning invasive research on cats and dogs and raising fines for hurting police and service animals.
• Supports families of public safety officers with a stable, ongoing scholarship program.
• Speeds up and standardizes police record checks while limiting the long-term harm of old minor convictions.
• Protects the privacy and dignity of families at inquests and keeps proceedings focused on facts, not sensational images.

Opponents' View#

• Lets police suspend licences and impound vehicles based on belief, before a court ruling, which could lead to mistakes and unfair hardship.
• Very high fines and indefinite licence suspensions can be disproportionate and hit low-income workers the hardest.
• Stronger bail lien and property sale powers may punish families who act as sureties and could deter people from helping loved ones on bail.
• Banning photos and recordings at inquests may reduce transparency and make it harder for media to report and for the public to scrutinize findings.
• Limits on animal research may slow medical progress or push research out of province.
• New limits on lawsuits over slow record checks may leave people with fewer options if delays cost them a job or placement.