Fact-checking Wab Kinew's promises on crime during Manitoba party leaders' debate

There were promises to reform bail, pledges to seize property from suspected criminals and accusations Manitoba's Progressive Conservative government has been "hard on the people living in bus shelters but soft on the people supplying them drugs."

But experts say some of the comments NDP Leader Wab Kinew made as his opponents — Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson and Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont — grilled him on crime and safety during the only televised leaders' debate of Manitoba's 2023 provincial election race on Thursday warrant further scrutiny or lack key details.

The debate came a day after the release of polls from the Angus Reid Institute and Probe Research suggesting the NDP have a strong lead in the campaign.

So what did the perceived front-runner in the race leading up to Manitoba's Oct. 3 election say about how his party would address crime — and how does it stack up against reality?

WATCH | Party leaders on how they'd tackle crime and safety:

During the debate section on crime and safety, Kinew said "there's no need to wait for other levels of government to take action" on bail reform, promising to "implement bail reform at the provincial level" and "direct the ministry of justice to implement stronger conditions on bail to keep you safe in the community" within 100 days of being elected.

But that "oddly worded" statement doesn't quite reflect what power provinces have when it comes to affecting bail outcomes, said Brandon Trask, an assistant professor in the University of Manitoba's faculty of law.

WATCH | Kinew says he'd tackle bail reform in first 100 days as premier:

"I would say his comments were partially true. But, you know, [they] could be confusing to a number of individuals listening," Trask said.

That's because while a province's attorney general can in theory provide broad directives to provincial prosecutors, only the federal government has the power to make the kind of criminal laws that would actually change bail outcomes, he said. 

Any directives also have to be based on objective legal criteria — "never ideology or political views," said University of Manitoba criminologist Frank Cormier.

And the final decisions are ultimately up to a judge — who a provincial government is not allowed to give orders to, said Michael Weinrath, a criminal justice professor at the University of Winnipeg.

Trask said he's also "a bit puzzled" about what directives an NDP attorney general might want to implement, since things like public safety are already considered in bail hearings.

Many of the current rulings that shape bail decisions have also been handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada — which wouldn't be possible for a provincial government to direct prosecutors to ignore, Trask said.