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LILLEY: Carney-appointed judge rejects Ontario cash bail rule in human trafficking case

Accused in major Halton trafficking bust released on promise to pay despite Ford government's new cash bail directive

A Carney-appointed judge has become one of the first to reject Ontario’s new cash bail rules, releasing a woman accused of human trafficking without demanding a cash deposit.

Justice Scott Cowan, appointed to the bench in October 2025 by Justice Minister Sean Fraser, issued the decision Wednesday at the Superior Court of Justice in Milton.

LILLEY: Carney-appointed judge rejects Ontario cash bail rule in human trafficking case Back to video

The woman was released on a $1,000 promise to pay, backed by $5,000 pledges from each of her two sureties, despite being arrested in the largest human trafficking bust in Halton police history.

The woman was charged with two counts of trafficking in persons, uttering threats, money laundering and a number of other offences. Along with eight others, she is accused of trafficking young women into prostitution and other sexual services in a commercial network that stretched across Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

In issuing his decision, Cowan also imposed a publication ban to protect the woman’s name, which, along with her photo, had already been broadcast across the country after her arrest.

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