Department of Justice

MINISTER OF JUSTICE RESPONDS TO
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT ON VICTIMS OF CRIME

OTTAWA, December 16, 1998 - The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today tabled the Government’s Response to the Fourteenth Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, "Victims’ Rights - A Voice, Not A Veto".

"Victims of crime deserve to be treated with courtesy, compassion and respect for their dignity," said Minister McLellan. "The review by the Standing Committee has confirmed the need to address and enhance the role of victims in the criminal justice system. We must ensure that they are provided with the information they need in a timely manner and that their perspective is considered in the development of policy and legislation."

"As Minister of Justice, I am committed to ensuring that the recommendations of the Standing Committee are implemented to the fullest extent possible," said the Minister. "My colleague, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Solicitor General of Canada, and I look forward to working with our provincial and territorial colleagues and with our partners in all parts of the criminal justice system to implement this strategy."

The Government’s Response addresses initiatives that fall within the federal government’s responsibility. The Government will establish a new Office or Policy Centre for Victims’ Issues. Among its primary responsibilities, the new Office would seek to ensure that the victim’s perspective is considered in the development of all policies and legislation. The Office would also manage, coordinate and enhance all federal initiatives relating to victims and become a centre of expertise on emerging national and international issues and trends in victim advocacy, legislation and services.

The Government of Canada is also committed to bringing forward legislative amendments to the Criminal Code to:

• improve opportunities for victims to make impact statements;
• make it easier for victims to participate as witnesses in trials by codifying the judge’s discretion to ban publication of a victim’s identity in appropriate circumstances and by expanding the protections for young victims of sexual or violent crime which restrict personal cross-examination by self-represented accused persons;
• reform the victim fine surcharge to ensure it is applied consistently by courts and, as a result, increase revenue for the provinces and territories to expand available services for victims; and
• require the responsible judicial officer to consider the victim’s safety in all bail decisions.

In addition to the recommendations of the Standing Committee, the Minister also announced she is considering additional legislative amendments to address concerns raised by the provinces and territories, victim advocacy organizations and the Uniform Law Conference. These include a further expansion of opportunities for victim impact statements, such as in s.745 parole eligibility hearingshearings, including expanding opportunities for the consideration of victim impact statements and supporting victims and witnesses when they give testimony.

The Minister thanked all members of the Committee for their report and indicated she looks forward to working with them to implement these important measures.

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Ref.:    Catherine Kane      Pierre Gratton
         Policy Sector       Minister’s Office
         (613) 957-4690      (613) 992-4621

Backgrounder:
Government response to the fourteenth report of the
Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights -
"Victims' Rights - A voice, not a veto
http://canada.justice.gc.ca/News/Communiques/1998/victimsbck_en.html

Response to the fourteenth report of the
Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights
Victims' Rights - A voice, not a veto
http://canada.justice.gc.ca/News/Communiques/1998/victimsrep_en.html