Justice committee  Sure. Those specific constituents, the worst of the worst—I can't think of a better expression—individuals in our society who are incarcerated for that length of time for these extremely heinous crimes, are not interested in rehabilitation. They're psychopaths. Psychopathy is a science that we are still learning about.

Justice committee  They've had to go back to Red Deer, Alberta, and 24 hours later, he says no, he wants the hearing. They go on with the hearing without the families in many cases because the families just cannot afford to fly back to Ottawa or Kingston or wherever the hearing is being held. Yes, it happens.

Justice committee  I think there would be a serious charter problem with the retrospective or retroactive application of anything that would change, in effect, a sentence.

Justice committee  It doesn't.

Justice committee  I'd also like to clarify that the primary objective of the parole board is protection of society. It is not the reintegration of the individual. I have seen many parole board hearings where parole board members have recommended against the release of an individual, and yet that was overruled and the individual was released back into the community.

Justice committee  Yes.

Justice committee  That was my issue. Either intentionally or unintentionally, the issues related to the victims were completely ignored. Then there's the cost to Canadian society; never mind the cost to families. We are aware of families in which fathers who have lost a child to extreme violence have ended up alcoholics, ended up being sound asleep at their son's grave for years after the event.

Justice committee  Every two years is my understanding. It used to be every year. I know from experience that certain individuals, especially those who enjoy continued victimization of their victims, will push for parole hearings as often as they possibly can. I believe the legislation or the rules were changed some years ago to reduce the number of parole hearings or change the time between parole hearings.

Justice committee  I'm not a lawyer and I certainly can't debate any of the technicalities that my colleague brought up. What I will tell you is that appeals are inevitable. In any form of extremely violent criminal act, there are always appeals. Victims and their families are always dragged through appeals again and again.

Justice committee  Thank you.

Justice committee  Thank you. I'm Joe Wamback. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, I want to thank you for for giving me the opportunity to testify today. I am the chair and founder of the Canadian Crime Victim Foundation, which has been in existence since the year 2000. We have almost two decades of experience in dealing with victims of extreme violence from coast to coast, from Victoria to St.

Justice committee  I've said in my brief that this is a monumental step forward. It's a turning point in the relations that the Canadian people will have with the judicial system in this country. It needs work, and it will always be massaged and manipulated for the next dozen years or more, but it's huge.

Justice committee  I can start initially. I'll keep it brief. There is no such thing as a standard victim. Everybody is different. They all have different needs. Some individuals have a need to have access to every bit of information about the person who has murdered their child or their loved one.

Justice committee  I support it. Not only do I support it, but it will save time and money.

Justice committee  As far as plea bargains go, it's been my good fortune to study, although I know it's not very popular, jurisdictions down in the United States. There are literally thousands of individual jurisdictions where plea bargains are discussed with victims prior to moving forward. The overwhelming evidence and response is that it makes the crown's job easier, because the victim now understands in many cases why a plea bargain is accepted or a plea bargain is proposed.