Backgrounder

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE FOURTEENTH REPORT
OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS -

"VICTIMS’ RIGHTS - A VOICE, NOT A VETO"

The Committee’s Report noted that improving the criminal justice system to respond to the concerns of crime victims requires action by the Government of Canada and the governments of the provinces and territories. However, the Report’s recommendations focused on what the Government of Canada should do at the federal level to enhance and articulate the victim’s role in the criminal justice system.

The Government’s Response addresses initiatives that fall within the federal government’s responsibility and specifically within the mandate of the Department of Justice and the Ministry of the Solicitor General. The Response is based on the principle that the rights and interests of victims of crime can be respected, promoted and reconciled with the rights of persons accused of crime.

Recommendation 1:

Developing a federal crime victims strategy

Response: The Government supports the ongoing work of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Victims of Crime and consultations with non-governmental organizations active in criminal justice. Its strategy to address the needs of victims has three elements:

• amending the Criminal Code to address the concerns highlighted in the Committee’s Report;
• improving coordination of policy development and legislative reform to consider the perspectives of victims and witnesses; and
• encouraging, as much as possible, the enhancement of provincial and territorial programs and services to make it easier to provide information to crime victims.

Recommendation 2:

Implementing the Statement of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime

Response: The Minister of Justice will consult with her provincial and territorial colleagues on the renewal and possible enhancement of the Canadian Statement of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime.

Recommendation 3:

Establishing a fully funded Office for Victims of Crime with an Advisory Committee representative of all components of the criminal justice system

Response: The Government of Canada supports establishing an office or policy centre for victim issues within the Department of Justice. An Advisory Committee is one of several options that will also be considered to seek the input and advice of representatives of all components of the criminal justice system. The extent to which the Government is able to fully implement the recommendation, and more particularly, the scope and mandate of an office or policy centre for victim issues, will be subject to the availability of resources. The office’s first priority would be to implement the Committee’s recommendations to the fullest extent possible. The office would fulfill three broad objectives:

• coordination and development of all federal policy and legislative initiatives related to victims;
• encouragement and support of mutually agreed upon federal/provincial/territorial initiatives; and
• consultation with representatives of all components of the criminal justice system to ensure that their perspective informs the work of the office and of the Department of Justice.

Recommendation 4:

Assessing restorative justice practices in Canada

Response: A Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Restorative Justice has already been established. It will be encouraged to work in co-operation and consultation with the office or policy centre on victim issues and with the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Victims of Crime to address the recommendation and to ensure that restorative justice initiatives respect and protect the interests of victims of crime.

Recommendation 5:

Tabling an Omnibus Bill to amend the Criminal Code and Corrections and Conditional Release Act, drawing from the Canadian Statement of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime.

Response: The Minister of Justice intends to seek authority to draft appropriate amendments to the Criminal Code, as described below, in the near future. The recommended amendments to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act will be considered following the statutorily-required review of that Act by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. A preamble will emphasize Parliament’s objectives in amending the Criminal Code and will reiterate the relevant principles of the Canadian Statement of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime.

Recommendations 6 to 11 and 13:

Making specific amendments to the Criminal Code

Response: The Minister of Justice intends to seek authority to table amendments to address the issues highlighted by the Committee. The proposed Code amendments would:

• 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.

Recommendation 12:

Working with provinces and territories to develop strategies to assist victims to enforce restitution orders

Response: Where a victim is the beneficiary of a restitution order imposed as part of the offender’s sentence, he or she needs information and assistance to enforce and collect the payment ordered. Civil enforcement procedures vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and are governed by provincial and territorial law. The federal office or policy centre for victim issues will be encouraged to share information about enforcement procedures and best practices among all jurisdictions, with the co-operation of the provinces and territories.

Recommendations 14 to 17:

Addressing the concerns of victims of crime respecting parole and the federal corrections system

Response: The Government of Canada supports the objective of providing victims with a more meaningful role in the corrections process. The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights is currently mandated to conduct a comprehensive review of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. This will provide an additional opportunity to address the concerns of crime victims. A range of amendments to that Act will be considered following the review.

Department of Justice
December 16, 1998