Liberty Law Blog

Updated September 17, 2026

When you are arrested and charged for an alleged crime, the first issue to address is whether you will be released to await your trial in the community or be held in jail (also known as a Remand Centre). Currently, trials in Alberta are significantly delayed and it can take several months or even years to have your trial heard. If you are denied bail and ordered to await trial in a Remand Centre, you will be unable to work, and there will be limited time to talk to your family and your lawyer. No one wishes to wait for trial in jail (while you are presumed innocent) so it’s important to hire the right lawyer to speak to your release. 

What happens when you’re arrested for a criminal offence?

If you are arrested, the police have a few options. They can release you without holding you for a bail hearing (judicial interim release). With this option they may issue you an Appearance Notice, which is a document that has a court date, time, and place you must attend. It is important that you or your lawyer show up to court on the date listed in the Appearance Notice. Otherwise, you could have a warrant issued for your arrest, and a new criminal charge laid for failing to appear.

The police can also release you by way of an Undertaking. This document is similar to an Appearance Notice in that it lists a date, time, and place you must attend court; however, it may also include conditions that you must comply with going forward to secure your release. These conditions are often in place until your charges are fully dealt with. These conditions may prohibit you from having contact with certain people or attending certain locations. It is important to follow the conditions in your Undertaking because non-compliance creates the risk of additional criminal charges being laid for failing to comply.

The police may decline to release you and instead choose to hold you in custody while you wait for a bail hearing. In this instance, the decision to release you is deferred to a Justice of the Peace. That means you cannot leave jail unless or until a Justice of the Peace releases you. When detained by the police, you are entitled to talk to a lawyer before your bail hearing and have that lawyer represent you at your bail hearing. You are also entitled to be brought before a Justice of the Peace within 24 hours of your arrest. You also have Charter protected rights to speak to release within a reasonable amount of time. 

What happens during a bail hearing?

If you are being held for a bail hearing, you can choose to speak to your bail yourself, have a free Legal Aid lawyer speak to release, or hire a private lawyer to represent you for your bail hearing in front of a Justice of the Peace. Don’t worry if you are in a rural area. Your lawyer of choice from anywhere in the province can help you with a bail hearing as these hearings are conducted via telephone conference 7 days a week between 8 a.m. and midnight, including weekends and holidays.

The Justice of the Peace makes the final decision about your release in a bail hearing. During the hearing, both your lawyer and the Crown prosecutor will have the chance to speak. Sometimes Crown and defence counsel reach an agreement regarding release (consent release) but in other cases arguments have to be made about whether or not you should be released and on what terms and conditions. For most charges the onus is on Crown counsel to show cause why you should be detained but there are certain charges and situations where the onus is on defence to show cause why you should be released. 

A lawyer can help you in many ways. First, if the Crown prosecutor does not want to release you on bail, your lawyer can help advocate as to why you should be released. A lawyer can also help negotiate and advocate for what terms and conditions should be in place. You have a right to reasonable bail. 

The Justice of the Peace will consider three grounds:

Primary ground - whether there are any concerns you will not attend your future court appearances 

Secondary ground - whether there are any public safety concerns with your release;

Tertiary ground - whether your release would cause the public to lose confidence in the administration of justice 

If you are ordered released by the Justice of the Peace, a Release Order is prepared for you to sign. There can be cash or no cash terms attached to a Release Order as well as conditions that you must follow while awaiting trial. If you breach any of the conditions, you may be charged with the additional criminal offence of failing to comply and be required to pay the no cash amount or forfeit any cash you paid. 

There are some offences in the Criminal Code which carry a reverse-onus with respect to bail. This means that in these circumstances, you bear the burden of justifying why you should be released into the community. There is no longer any presumption that you will be granted bail. 

The federal government’s Bail and Sentencing Reform Act (Bill C-14) recently came into force on July 15th, 2026. This Bill significantly expanded the number of offences designated as reverse onus. The following are just some of the offences that now carry a reverse onus:

• Assaults and sexual assaults involving choking, suffocating or strangulation
• Car theft that is violent or related to organized crime
• Break and enter into a dwelling house
• Serious violent offences for those who have two or more prior convictions for similar offences
• Extortion involving violence

If you have been charged with a reverse-onus offence, it is crucial to have an experienced lawyer who can put together a strong bail plan. In such situations, your lawyer may advise that you defer your bail hearing to allow them time to prepare and put you in the best possible position to seek release.

If you choose not to speak to your bail, you will get a court date in the Alberta Court of Justice and will have to stay in jail unless and until you are released. Usually, prior to speaking to bail before a Justice of the Peace you are held in the detachment where you were arrested, or transferred to the Edmonton Detainee Management Unit. If you do not speak to bail before a Justice of the Peace, you will be transferred to a local remand centre: usually the Edmonton Remand Centre, the Calgary Remand Centre or the Peace River Correctional Centre. 

How can I be released after a bail hearing?

There are many different ways you can be released from jail after a bail hearing. The least restrictive way is called an Undertaking without any conditions to follow.

You can also be released by way of a Release Order with either a promise to pay or a cash deposit. A promise to pay means that you do not have to pay any money up front, but if you breach any of your conditions you may be liable for that amount to the government. A cash deposit requires you to post money up front, which will be returned to you at the conclusion of your case, if you do not breach any of your release conditions. It is important you comply with the conditions outlined in your Release Order otherwise you risk further criminal charges for failing to comply and you may be detained until trial. 

The most restrictive way to be released is by way of a surety. A surety is someone in your community who promises to supervise you. They have an obligation to alert the police if you are not complying with your release conditions. Typically, this is a person of good character, who is close to you both in terms of your relationship and physical location.

Why does this matter?

A lawyer can assist you in creating a release plan to present to the Justice of the Peace or Court of Justice judge. As an adult accused, if you are denied release by a Justice of the Peace, you cannot speak to release again in the Court of Justice. 

This means it is important to speak to release properly the first time, because without a change in circumstances or an error in law, you only get one chance to speak to your bail. If you get denied release, you can have that decision reviewed in the Court of King’s Bench, but only if something has significantly changed since your first bail hearing, or if the presiding Justice made a mistake in how they applied the law when deciding the issue of your release. 

If you have conditions that you seek to amend, delete or vary you will typically need to make an application in the Court of King’s Bench.

The lawyers are Liberty Law are able to begin working on your bail at any time of day, as our office provides 24-hour emergency service. We conduct bail hearings 365 days a year. With decades of combined experience, our lawyers know how to reach you in custody after-hours and who to contact to best secure your release as soon as possible.