The time has come for Canada's justice system to think about doing away with preliminary inquiries, federal Justice Minister Vic Toews said Monday.

"Quite frankly, I don't see the value any more of the preliminary hearing," Toews told delegates at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in St. John's.

Vic Toews told the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police he does not see much value in preliminary inquiries: 'We're giving defence lawyers, essentially, a second kick at the cat.'
(CBC)

"Maybe, in very limited circumstances — [when] the Crown and defence counsel agree that there's an issue related to the credibility of a witness — that makes sense," Toews said.

"But in most situations, all we're doing is duplicating. We're giving defence lawyers, essentially, a second kick at the cat."

Toews made his comments to a closed-door session at the meeting of police chiefs. However, the proceedings were streamed live over the internet.

After his presentation, Toews softened his remarks while speaking with reporters.

"There's some strong feelings in some quarters [that] preliminary hearings have outlived their usefulness. Others, including Crown attorneys, say there are still uses for preliminary hearings," Toews said.

The worthiness of preliminary inquiries — which require countless hours of police time, let alone other resources within the justice system — has been a subject of debate for years.

Bill Trudell, who debated Toews on the issue at the meeting on behalf of the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers, said preliminary inquiries are valuable.

"When we have an age where mistakes are made, and wrongful convictions happen," Trudell said.

"I think we should be more protective, as opposed to throwing out one of the protective vehicles. It would be a very dangerous thing, to throw the preliminary inquiry out with a view to expediency."

Toews, who said he has not made up his mind, said the issue will be considered as part of a broader legal reform package. He promised that all sides in the justice system would be consulted.

Toews noted that provincial attorneys-general already have the discretion to skip a preliminary hearing and proceed to direct indictment, as happened in the Air India trial.

Toews said he would like to see that trend continue.