Ford can't unring this bell

Grit nominations move like molasses

ABOVE THE FOLD

BAIL OUT — The Premier is taking flak for vowing to hold judges “accountable” for bail decisions, raising concerns about judicial independence.

The good: Ford — who was in Mississauga to pump up the purchase of five new police choppers at a higher-than-expected cost, with an eye to tackling auto thefts — said the Attorney General’s office will start collecting statistics on bail, and judges and justices of the peace will have to answer for their decisions.

While much of Ford’s haranguing of the bail system now seems to be based on anecdotal evidence, folks in the legal community are lauding the move to collect more data — but they draw the line when the powers-that-be interfere with the courts.

The bad: What exactly that accountability entails is hazy. Ford wouldn’t say whether he’d kick judges off the bench (“Well, let’s first measure”), and he was evasive when asked about concerns over judicial independence (“They’re always independent, but who holds them accountable?…