An Ontario judge has temporarily blocked the province’s new cash bail system after finding it could cause people who would otherwise be released to remain behind bars because they cannot produce the required money.

Ontario Superior Court Justice William Chalmers granted an injunction Monday suspending the rules while he considers a constitutional challenge brought by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association.

The new system, introduced earlier in August, required accused people granted bail to provide a cash security deposit within two business days of their release.

Under the previous system, accused people or their sureties generally promised to pay an amount if bail conditions were breached. The money was not normally collected upfront.

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The legal groups argue Ontario’s change intrudes on federal jurisdiction and conflicts with the Criminal Code, which directs courts to favour a promise to pay over an immediate cash deposit. They warned the policy would disproportionately affect poor and marginalized accused people who may be unable to raise the money or find a surety able to pay.

Chalmers found the applicants had demonstrated that allowing the system to remain in force could cause irreparable harm.

“The effect of the impugned legislation may result in persons who would have otherwise been released, having their release denied or delayed because of the difficulty ... in securing an able and willing surety,” he wrote.

The judge also found the temporary suspension would not harm the Ontario government.

“The status quo that has been in place for over 50 years will be maintained for the limited period before my ruling on the constitutionality of the legislation is released,” Chalmers wrote.

Ontario maintains the cash requirement is merely an administrative change that does not alter the legal conditions for release. Government lawyers argued the challenge relies on speculation about how the system might operate in practice.

The injunction does not decide whether Ontario’s policy is unconstitutional. It freezes the scheme until Chalmers delivers his ruling on the merits of the challenge.