The Liberal government’s rewrite of Canada’s bail laws has received royal assent.

Bill C-14 became law on Monday night — during the final week of the spring sitting — after months of debate in the Senate.

The Liberals had hoped it would pass earlier in the sitting, noting it was backed by premiers, police chiefs and even the opposition Conservatives.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser told reporters on Parliament Hill on Tuesday the bill was developed in cooperation with the provinces, and Ottawa would provide “direct financial support” to those other orders of government to collect data on the impact of the changes.

“By continuing the spirit of collaboration, we’re going to be able to build a safer country. We’ve taken a major step forward last night and the reason we were able to do it is because we’ve done it together,” he said.

In the previous Parliament, the Liberals shot back at provinces critical of their approach on bail by noting that many didn’t keep their own data. This made it difficult to determine how many people out on bail awaiting trial won contested hearings or were granted bail on consent of both the Crown and defence.

Some critics have suggested that Crown attorneys are more inclined to not contest bail hearings due to overcrowding in jails, which fall under provincial jurisdiction. While the Criminal Code falls under federal jurisdiction, the provinces are responsible for the administration of justice.

When asked by iPolitics on the role of the provinces, Fraser said Ottawa was making a “short-term investment” to help the provinces “standardize the practice of data collection” in the bail system,” and to allow the government to “actually measure with a higher degree of rigour.”

“With the support that we’re putting in place, we will position provinces and territories better than they are positioned today in order to collect and, and share this data so we can learn lessons for policy changes, not just at the federal level, but potentially at provincial levels as well,” he said, noting that the provinces were the first to demand changes from the federal government.

Fraser added that the provinces understand that the bail changes will likely come with new financial demands — including staffing at jails and courthouses — but they agreed to shoulder it because they appreciate that the “cost is well worth it.”

READ MORE: Liberals question Senate’s handling of bail reform bill

C-14 expands the use of reverse-onus provisions in bail hearings for cases involving violent auto-theft, break and enter, human trafficking and smuggling, assault and sexual assault, and extortion involving violence or violent threats.

In most cases, Crown prosecutors have to convince a judge to continue detaining an accused person while awaiting trial. But for serious crimes like murder and armed robbery, the onus is reversed and the accused has to argue for why they should be released.

The Liberals have said the bill was a direct response from premiers, who are upset with repeated offenders quickly returning to the streets after arrests.

The Conservatives framed the bill as flawed but an improvement over the status quo, and lined up to support its speedy passage through Parliament.

Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner called the bill a “very positive step” that would provide new tools for judges to keep dangerous people behind the bars while awaiting trial.

He said the bill’s success will ultimately depend on “how the justice system implements it” and how individual judges make some of these determinations.

Tanner said he wanted the government to go further by restricting access to bail for serious offences like violent human trafficking or sexual assault cases involving children.

Conservative Frank Caputo echoed that call during a press conference on Tuesday, urging the government to restrict access to bail to those accused of serious crimes.

The Charter ensures that everyone has a right to not to be denied reasonable bail without “just cause,” and there are no offences in the Criminal Code that prevent someone from applying for bail. The reverse onus rules are in effect for more serious offences like murder.

Bill C-14 was fast-tracked through the House justice committee earlier this year as part of a deal with the Liberals and Conservatives, which temporarily paused study of the government’s anti-hate bill, C-9.

It passed on division — which means opposition was noted, but no vote was held — on Feb. 13.

The bill landed in the Senate on Feb. 24, and was referred to committee on March 12. The first hearing on the bill at committee came on March 25.

There were collectively 10 meetings on the bill at committee, compared to only three at the House justice committee.

A government source said senators shot down efforts to speed up the study as they wanted more time to examine the legislation. This included rejecting a motion at committee to conclude clause-by-clause earlier.

The bill was eventually passed by the Senate with amendments on May 28.

The government rejected amendments on factors to consider during a bail hearing and consultations on the required ministerial report on the bail reforms.

But the Liberals supported the other amendments, including permitting the courts to name someone convicted of indictable offence within the past ten years to serve as a surety if no other person is available and that “doing so is in the interests of justice.”

The courts would also have to explain on the record their reasons for naming such a person a surety.

A surety is someone who promises the court to supervise a person out on bail. The surety must also promise to pay the court if the person fails to appear or violates their bail conditions.

There is no current ban on people convicted of indictable offences from serving as a surety.

A government source, who isn’t being identified to discuss internal matters, said it was accepted because it “reflects challenges in different jurisdictions across the country,” and the amendment “provides flexibility where it may be required.”

The amendment passed over the objections of Conservative Sen. Denise Batters, who said it “effectively neutered the limitation on who could serve as a surety, or guarantor, for an accused in a bail proceeding.”

The government sent the revised version of C-14 back to the Senate, and the Senate agreed on Monday to not insist on the rejected amendments, paving the way for the bill to become law.

While in some cases, it can take one or two years for laws like C-14 to be fully implemented, the government is planning on putting it into effect 30 days after it receives royal assent.