The province’s Justice minister wants Ottawa to amend the criminal code to make it harder for people to get bail while facing domestic violence charges.

John Hogan sent a letter to his federal counterpart, Arif Virani, on March 13th, focusing on changes in the code which he believes would strengthen bail provisions for people facing charges of intimate partner violence.

The onus is usually on the Crown to prove why someone charged with a crime should be denied bail and remain in custody, given the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Proposed changes would require the opposite — referred to as “reverse onus” — where the burden of proof lies with the defence, or the accused, to show why they should be released.

“So it flips the onus on who has to prove the case for release,” said Hogan.

Currently, the reverse onus only kicks in when the accused has a prior conviction for domestic violence. Hogan is asking for that condition to be removed, automatically putting the onus on an accused charged with domestic violence.

Hogan acknowledges the recent death of a woman in Outer Cove was “an impetus” to look at how things could be handled differently in the courts.

The victim’s ex-husband, Ibrahim Alahmad, has been charged with first-degree murder in the case.

He was already facing numerous domestic violence-related charges involving the woman and her children when she was killed

Hogan says he has not yet received a response to his letter from the federal Justice minister.