WONG-TAM: Ford’s underfunded, unsafe court rooms result in attack on Crown attorney

QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario NDP Shadow Attorney General Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre) is calling on Doug Ford to finally make the province’s court rooms safer, after a Crown attorney was attacked during a dangerous offender hearing in Peterborough.

“This terrifying incident was, sadly, all too predictable,” said Wong-Tam. “For years, we have called on the Ford government to give Ontario’s court rooms the funding they need to provide a safe environment for everyone. The Conservatives' continued refusal to do so has resulted in charges being thrown out, reduced sentences for serious offenders, and now this.

“The same Crown attorney who was attacked had been raising concerns about the lack of plexiglass in this prisoner’s box for nearly a decade. The fact that it took an assault to make such a simple fix is absurd, but the Ford government has always been a day late and a dollar short.

“We can’t make Ontario safe for everyone until our court rooms protect the people who work in them and ensure timely access to justice for all. Ford and Attorney General Downey need to start taking this seriously, before something even worse happens.”