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Victims of Crime Initiative: Activities Report April 2000 - October 2004
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2. The Victims of Crime Initiative: 2000-2005
The Victims of Crime Initiative is Justice Canada 's response to the Standing Committee of Justice and Human Rights Report Victims' Rights – A Voice Not a Veto. Established informally in late 1999, with funds provided in 2000, it was given a five-year mandate.
Goals and Objectives
The Victims of Crime Initiative is broadly mandated to respond to the needs of victims of crime and increase their confidence in the Canadian criminal justice system. The objectives of the VCI are to:
- ensure victims and their families are aware of their role in the criminal justice system and the services and assistance available to support them;
- enhance the capacity of the Department of Justice to develop policy, legislation, and other initiatives that take into consideration the perspectives of victims (act as a 'victim's lens');
- increase the awareness of criminal justice personnel, allied professionals, and the public about the needs of victims of crime, legislative provisions designed to protect them, and the services available to support them; and
- develop and disseminate information about effective approaches both within Canada and internationally to respond to the needs of victims of crime (become a centre of expertise).
By supporting provinces and territories that work with victims, the Initiative will also enhance the role of victims within the criminal justice system.
Resources
In March 2000 the Government of Canada allocated $25M over five years to the Department of Justice's Victims of Crime Initiative. Of this amount, approximately $10M is allocated to the Victims Fund ($2M per year). These funds are available as grants and contributions to provincial and territorial governments and non-governmental organizations to develop, promote and enhance services and assistance for victims.
Policy Centre for Victim Issues
The activities of the VCI are coordinated and implemented by the Policy Centre for Victim Issues (PCVI). The Policy Centre for Victim Issues is part of the Criminal Law Policy and Community Justice Branch, Policy Section at the Department of Justice and is mandated to:
- co-ordinate and develop all federal legislative initiatives and policy relating to victim issues;
- encourage and support mutually agreed upon federal/provincial/ territorial initiatives;
- act as a central point of contact for provinces, territories, federal departments, and other agencies; and
- become a centre of expertise on emerging national and international issues and trends in victim advocacy, legislation and services.
Shared Jurisdiction
As mentioned, the federal government and provincial and territorial governments share the responsibility to respond to the needs and concerns of victims of crime and to articulate the victims' role in the criminal justice system.
The implementation of the VCI and the mandate and activities of the PCVI were developed, and operate within an awareness and respect for the jurisdictional division of powers that guide the federal government's responsibility and the limited role it plays in directly providing assistance to victims of crime in Canada.
The following chart provides a summary of the shared jurisdictions for victim issues/key divisions of responsibility.
| Table 2.1 Shared Jurisdiction for Victim Issues |
Jurisdiction |
Main Responsibilities |
Federal Government
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- Enacting criminal law ( Criminal Code, Youth Criminal Justice Act, Corrections and Conditional Release Act )
- Correctional Service Canada and National Parole Board provide information and a limited role for victims through the Corrections and Conditional Release Ac.
- Law reform and policy development
- Evaluation and monitoring of national funded programs and Criminal Code amendments
- Prosecution of Criminal Code offences in the territories
- Consultation with stakeholders
- Research
- Program development
- Sharing information with the public
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Provinces and Territories
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- Enforcing the law, prosecuting offences and administering justice*
- Delivery of victim services
- Victim legislation (may include principles, administration of a Victims Fund, criminal injuries compensation, surcharge on provincial offences, service standards)
- Evaluation and monitoring of jurisdiction programs, services, and delivery models
- Research
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* Note that the Attorney General of Canada prosecutes all federal offences, including Criminal Code offences, in the three northern territories. Consequently, PCVI provides some funds for the delivery of Crown-based victim services in the three territories. This would be provincial jurisdiction in the provinces.
Given this, the PCVI has worked very closely with its provincial and territorial counterparts. The Federal-Provincial-Territorial Victims of Crime Working Group, a forum that provides input on proposed law reforms and the effectiveness of existing provisions, hold regular meetings. The Working Group also solicited feedback from the jurisdictions on activities undertaken by PCVI, identifying emerging issues, guiding PCVI priorities and facilitating a coordinated approach to delivery of services for victims of crime across Canada.
PCVI Activities
Over the last four and a half years, the PCVI has engaged in a number of activities that speak to its broad and multi-faceted mandate and objectives. They are listed below and are discussed in more detail in section 3 of this report.
- Law Reform and Criminal Law Policy Development . This includes analysis of all criminal law reform proposals to assess their impact on victims of crime, the development of new legislation (e.g., Bill C-2), monitoring of existing Code provisions, case law reviews and providing advice regarding possible Charter challenges.
- Consultation with a broad range of stakeholders to ensure the perspective of victims is considered in law reform, policy development, program initiatives, identification of necessary research, and the effectiveness of law reform and other initiatives.
- Supporting the federal-provincial-territorial victim's network through the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Victims of Crime . Made up of Directors of Victim Services from all provinces and territories and federal representatives, this network provides a forum to share information and expertise. The Federal-Provincial-Territorial network is essential given the primary role of provinces/territories in delivering front-end victim services and court-based victim services. The network also permits exploration of joint initiatives, identification of emerging issues, informal evaluation of programs, discussions about recent legislation and implementation issues as well as the identification of research needs.
- Coordinating Federal Initiatives. The PCVI, through its mandated role to act as a ‘victim's lens' for all federal legislation and initiatives, is active in a number of Interdepartmental Committees, Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Groups and federal forums.
- Public Legal Education and Awareness. The PCVI develops and disseminates information about the victim's role in the criminal justice system through fact sheets, pamphlets and the PCVI web site. In addition, the PCVI ensures that consultation reports and research reports are published and distributed.
- Research. The PCVI developed a five-year research plan to generate research-based evidence for identifying the needs of victims of crime, exploring how victims engage with the criminal justice system and its alternatives, as well as identifying implementation issues regarding legislative provisions for victims and recent Criminal Code amendments (e.g., Bill C-79).
- Administering the Victims Fund . The PCVI has administered the Victims Fund, a grants and contributions fund with fairly broad terms and conditions designed to raise awareness and enhance services and assistance to victims of crime. Two million dollars are allocated to this Fund per year and distributed through four components: Provincial and Territorial Implementation, Innovative Pilot Projects, Northern and Rural Projects, and Emergency Financial Assistance.
- Evaluation. The mandate of the PCVI began in 2000 and will be seeking renewal in 2005. An evaluation framework was approved by Treasury Board Secretariat in March 2001. A mid-term evaluation was completed that focused on the implementation of the Victims of Crime Initiative including the structure, management and resources allocated to the PCVI. The evaluation results were positive. Recently, a summative evaluation was completed which examined the success, relevance and cost-effectiveness/alternatives of the VCI, including the degree to which the Initiative has achieved its objectives. The evaluation results revealed that the Initiative has continued relevance and was at least partially successful in meeting its stated goals and objectives.
- Developing a Centre of Expertise. PCVI activities contribute to the enhancement of our capacity as a ‘centre of expertise' on a wide range of victim related issues.
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