Thank you very much.

This morning, I tabled amendments to the Criminal Code that will strengthen the voice of victims in the criminal justice system. Before I begin, however, I would like to acknowledge the presence of people who have provided invaluable advice to me over the past months in preparing the package of amendments that we are bringing forward today:

Steve Sullivan, Executive Director of the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime; Brenda MacDonald of CAVEAT Alberta; Brian Ford, Chief of Police of the Ottawa-Carleton Police Service and a member of the Executive of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police; and David Cassels, former Chief of the Winnipeg Police Service, who is representing Priscilla de Villiers, the national President of CAVEAT.

Unfortunately, Priscilla could not be here today, and as you are all aware, she is someone who has worked very, very hard in this country on behalf of victims. As some of you may know, Priscilla suffered a serious fall last Friday, and is presently in hospital. My wishes for a quick recovery go out to her, as well as my sincere thank you for the significant contribution that she has made to the development of this package of amendments, which strengthens the voice of victims in the criminal justice system.

I also want to note the very important work done by my colleagues, the members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. I think this is an issue that brought members of all parties together to do very, very good work on behalf of victims in Canadian society. Especially, I want to acknowledge the work of my Parliamentary Secretary, Eleni Bakopanous, and her colleague, Sheila Finestone, who brought together a large number of people in the city of Montreal who had concerns surrounding victims issues. I had an opportunity to join them for part of their meeting and, in fact, it provided me with, again, another opportunity to meet with victims directly and hear their concerns. I want to underscore for everybody this morning, how important that has been in helping me understand first hand, the many challenges and concerns victims have about the existing criminal justice system.

The amendments that I introduced this morning in the House of Commons, reflect the Government’s commitment to ensure that the views and concerns of victims are considered in decisions that affect them, especially in areas regarding their safety, security or privacy.

The amendments also recognize the important responsibility that provinces and territories have to deliver services to victims and will also provide provincial and territorial governments with increased funding for these services.

As you know, these amendments respond to unanimous recommendations of an all-party report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Victim’s Rights – A Voice, Not a Veto. But they also include measures to address concerns raised by the provinces and territories and the Uniform Law Conference, and issues victims of crime and their advocates have raised with me personally over the past two years.

Victims of crime need more information about their role in the criminal justice system and about services and assistance that may be available. They want to be treated with courtesy and compassion. As the Standing Committee’s report stated, and as the preamble of the amending Act tabled this morning emphasizes, they need a voice in the criminal justice system that is listened to and respected.

Much has been done in the criminal justice system over the past few years to facilitate the participation of victims and witnesses and to support them through a variety of programs and services. Recent initiatives include restricting production of personal records of sexual offence complainants, restricting the intoxication defence and strengthening of the peace bond provisions. Just last month, I tabled the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which recognizes in its Declaration of Principles the important role of victims in the youth justice system and responds to their need for information.

But despite past efforts, clearly there is still room for improvement.

The Criminal Code amendments I have tabled today will strengthen the victim’s voice in a justice system that has, for too long, failed to treat victims with the courtesy, compassion and respect they deserve.

Victims have told me many times that one of their most important concerns is having the opportunity to express to court, in the way that they wish, the impact of an offence on their lives and on the lives of their loved ones. These amendments will ensure that victims are allowed to read their impact statement in court at the time of sentencing. At present, a judge is required to consider only the written statement, but oral presentation is discretionary.

The judge will also be required to inform victims of their opportunity to prepare a victim impact statement, and may permit adjournments to give them the time they need to prepare that statement.

The amendments will clarify that during section 745.6 hearings, which determine whether an offender sentenced to life should have his or her parole eligibility reduced, the information provided by the victim may be oral or written, at the option of the victim. The Criminal Code already states that any information provided by the victim will be considered; however, in practice some victims have been discouraged from making oral statements.

In addition, victim impact statements will be considered following verdicts of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder.

The system needs to do all it can to support victims when they face the very difficult task of testifying in court. The amendments will facilitate the testimony of certain witnesses, who face difficulties because of their age, disability or the nature of their victimization.

For example, victims or witnesses with a mental or physical disability would be permitted to have a support person present while giving testimony. Protections that restrict personal cross-examination by self-represented accused persons will be extended to victims of sexual or violent crime up to 18 years of age. And proposed amendments will make it easier for victims and witnesses to participate in trials by permitting the judge to ban publication of their identity in appropriate circumstances.

The amendments will also require police officers, judges and other responsible judicial officers to consider the victim’s safety in all bail decisions and in crafting appropriate conditions where an accused is released on bail.

The amendments will raise the victim surcharge on offenders and ensure it is applied consistently by the courts. Currently, the victim surcharge is an amount up to 15% of a fine, and up to $35 where no fine is imposed. The new surcharge will impose mandatory, minimum amounts. These amounts will be 15% of any fine imposed on the offender, $50 in the case of an offence punishable by summary conviction or $100 in the case of an offence punishable by indictment. Judges will also be permitted to raise the amounts if they consider it appropriate.

Although the surcharge already exists, it is often forgotten and enforcement has been, clearly, inconsistent across the country. The proposed amendments I have introduced today make the victim surcharge both mandatory and automatic. Taken together, these measures should significantly increase revenues for provincial and territorial governments, who have primary responsibility for providing services for victims. All of the money collected through the victim surcharge will go directly to funding victims’ services. This extra money will allow provincial and territorial governments to further improve and expand their services.

Today’s legislation is an important step forward to reform the way the criminal justice system treats victims. But our work is not over. The Government’s strategy with respect to victims of crime is to ensure that the victim’s perspective is always considered in the development of policies, programs and legislation, and in decisions impacting on them when they are caught up in the criminal justice system. This will be accomplished on an ongoing basis by the Victims’ Policy Centre, which will be located in the Department of Justice and which was another important commitment by the Government in its response to the Standing Committee in December.

In the short term, the Centre’s priority will be to implement the recommendations of the Committee. This will include undertaking the necessary consultations with our provincial and territorial colleagues and with victim advocates and service providers. Working with the provinces, victims’ groups and others, we will be vigilant in ensuring that the concerns of victims are addressed and that their role in the criminal justice system is respected.

Thank you very much.