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The Victims Fund

Questions and Answers 

Financial Assistance to Attend National Parole Board Hearings

1. Who can receive funding to attend a National Parole Board (NPB) hearing?

Those who:

• are registered as victims with either the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) or the National Parole Board (NPB) and
• apply to attend a hearing and
• are subsequently security cleared to enter the institution.

The victim must attend the hearing in order to receive the financial assistance. CSC/NPB staff will verify whether or not the hearing was attended. The applicant must also submit receipts for expenses incurred.

2. How does a person register as a victim?

Victims may phone or write to the National Parole Board or the Correctional Service of Canada office in their area for information. (See addresses and phone numbers at the end of the document.)

3. Who administers the travel funding?

The Victims Fund is administered by the Department of Justice's Policy Centre for Victim Issues.

4.  If this is for NPB hearings, why is Justice administering the travel funding?

The Policy Centre for Victim Issues is administering the funding because they already had some of the infrastructure necessary to administer the claims and this will be a new element.

5. How can a victim apply for funding?

Financial assistance is only available for hearings to be held after the date of commencement of the program–November 1, 2005. (No retroactive travel assistance can be offered.)

Victims seeking financial assistance must submit an application form to the Department of Justice Policy Centre for Victim Issues (see below for address) at least 30 days before the scheduled NPB hearing. Some exceptions will be considered if the victim was not aware of the financial assistance component and had no means of becoming aware or if the hearing was scheduled on short notice or if the victim makes first contact with NPB/CSC within 30 days prior to the hearing.

The Victims Fund Manager may be contacted at 1-866-544-1007 or in writing at

Victims Fund Manager
Programs Branch
Department of Justice
284 Wellington Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H8

6. What if the hearing date is not yet finalized?

The application should be submitted with whatever information is available to the applicant. For example, the month of the hearing might be known but not the exact date. The NPB cannot finalize the date of the hearing until 21 days before it takes place. The processing of the application, therefore, will be finalized after confirmation of the hearing date.

Even if all necessary information is not available, it is important to start the application process as far in advance as possible so that funds are available when required. Additional necessary information can be provided as it becomes available.

7. How will the funding be disbursed?

Financial assistance will be provided in two instalments. The first instalment will be approximately 70% of the anticipated travel expenses. The final payment will be provided after the hearing when the Victims Fund Manager receives the receipts for expenses incurred. Recipients should submit their expense claims as soon as possible after the NPB hearing (within 30 days if possible).

8. Where can a victim obtain an application form?

Application forms may be obtained from the Victims Fund, Policy Centre for Victim Issues.

Write to:

Victims Fund Manager
Programs Branch
Department of Justice
284 Wellington Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H8

Phone the Victims Fund at 1-866-544-1007

Forms are also available on-line at http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/voc/form_cf/jus700.cfm (PDF) and from NPB Regional Offices.

9. What information must victims provide in an application?

As well as their name and address and the name of the offender, victims must include such information as:

• contact information, such as, telephone numbers (cell, home, work), fax numbers, e-mail addresses, whether or not messages can be left at those numbers, name of an alternative contact.
• the approximate date of the hearing,
• their proposed method of travel,
• the anticipated expenses they will incur (bus/train/air fares, meals, hotel accommodation, etc.),
• the proposed dates they will be travelling
  • Travel within Canada: maximum three days expenses and maximum two nights hotel accommodation, unless travelling from a rural or remote area or great distance.
  • Travel from outside Canada – to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Subsequent applications for financial assistance must provide details of travel assistance already received from the Victims Fund.

See sample form at end of document.

10. After the form is complete, what does the victim do with it?

The application is submitted to the Victims Fund Manager at the Policy Centre for Victim Issues for consideration based on available information.

Mail completed form to:

Victims Fund Manager
Programs Branch
Department of Justice
284 Wellington Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H8

or fax form to 613-941-2269
or submit form electronically.

Once the NPB has confirmed the date and place of the hearing, the applicant must update the application with the Victims Fund Manager.

11. What if victims go to hearings together?

In the case of victims travelling together or sharing accommodation, each person would complete a claim form. One person would claim the travel and/or accommodation costs on his/her form along with his/her meals and incidentals and the others would only claim meals and incidentals.

12. What if the application is late?

Financial assistance may not be available when the application is received after the date of the hearing except in cases where the applicant who attended the hearing can demonstrate that he/she did not know the fund existed prior to the hearing or if the hearing is held on short notice.

13. Why does a victim have to have a security clearance to go to a hearing?

This clearance is not specific to victims; all people entering an NPB hearing must be cleared to enter.

14.  How long does it take to get clearance?

The time for a clearance varies according to CSC's workload. In order to ensure this part of the process is completed in time, CSC/NPB will get security clearance forms to victims as much as 10 months before the offender's eligibility date for a hearing.

15. How often can a person receive assistance to attend hearings?

Victims may seek travel assistance for any or all NPB hearings scheduled for the offender who harmed them.

There is space on the application form to indicate if this is the first or a subsequent application for funds.

Travel assistance already received from the Victims Fund must be noted on the form.

16. How many victims can go to a hearing?

There is no limit on the number of registered victims who may apply to attend the NPB hearing of the offender who harmed them; however, space to accommodate all victims may be an issue in some institutions. All efforts will be made to accommodate those who wish to be present.

17. What expenses are eligible for funding?

Travel costs will be interpreted in accordance with the latest Government Guidelines for government travel.

Government travel rates apply to:

• Gas mileage (rates vary from region to region, on average it is approximately $0.45 per kilometre.) The kilometric rate payable when a Canadian registered vehicle is driven in more than one province or in the USA is the rate applicable to the province or territory of registration of the vehicle.
• Air, bus, or train–at economy rates
• Car rentals (including collision insurance)–usually for mid-size cars, unless victims of an offender would be travelling together and require a larger vehicle.
• Hotels (in most cases a maximum of two nights). If private non-commercial accommodations are used (that is, staying at the home of a friend or relative), the daily allowance is $50.00 per night.
• Meals and incidentals (approximately $75 per day per person)
• Taxis (if necessary) from airport to hotel and hotel to place of hearing and return; in some circumstances car rental may be more economical.

Expenses that are not eligible include:

• Caregiver/babysitting expenses
• Lost wages due to attendance at hearing
• Any other expenses not related to travel or accommodation (as described above).
  

18. Do I need to submit receipts?

Receipts are required for all eligible expenses, except meals and incidentals.

19. What are “incidentals”?

Incidentals are a daily allowance to cover the costs of items which can be attributed to a period in travel, but for which no other reimbursement or allowance is provided. Incidentals include but are not limited to such items as gratuities, laundry, dry cleaning, bottled water, and phone calls. At this printing the allowance for incidentals is $17.30 per day, and no receipts are required.

20. What happens if the hearing does not proceed as scheduled?

If the hearing does not proceed as scheduled and is not rescheduled within three months (or other time period), the applicant must return any tickets purchased and travel expenses advanced from the Victims Fund.

21. What happens if the hearing is postponed at the last minute and the victim has already travelled to the hearing?

The funding request in this situation will be processed as if the hearing had taken place.

22. What happens if the victim gets unavoidably delayed on the way to a hearing or decides at the last minute that he or she cannot enter the institution?

A telephone number will be provided so that the victim can inform the NPB of the situation.

Please Note:

Applicants should note that information submitted may be subject to a request under the Access to Information Act and/or the Privacy Act . (Note: Both Acts provide for the protection of personal information from disclosure, but in rare cases the government may be required to disclose. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.)

The administrators of the Victims Fund will ask those who receive funds to participate in a short survey to evaluate the program and to make improvements to it.

• Sample form