Justice committee  First of all, I want to inform the committee that Bill S‑231 was drafted together with some 100 women who had all been victims of domestic violence; many had also been victims of attempted murder. We gave them a pen and simply asked them what amendments they wanted made to the Criminal Code.

Justice committee  I fully agree. Honourable members, I'd like to draw a comparison with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms adopted in 1982, which has changed a lot since its passage as a result of court decisions. The Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, however, has not undergone any changes in six years.

Justice committee  Thank you, Madam Chair.

Justice committee  Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for this opportunity to address you today on the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, which the Conservative government adopted in 2015. I worked for nearly 10 years to get this charter adopted. In 2005, three years after my daughter Julie was murdered, I had a private meeting with Stephen Harper, who made a personal commitment to make his government the government of victims and to adopt a victims charter.

Public Safety committee  Thank you very much.

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Madam Chair.

Human Resources committee  Statistics were produced during the association's eight years of existence, when we followed families over a long period of time. Those statistics also come from comparative figures. There is very little data on the impact of a crime on families, especially in cases of homicide or disappearance.

Human Resources committee  Sir, it should be understood that, in 2002, families whose child had been murdered were receiving no psychotherapeutic assistance. However, since 2006, the Government of Quebec and several other provincial governments started providing assistance to those families. They can have up to 30 hours of psychotherapeutic services provided by a psychologist or a therapist.

Human Resources committee  As I said earlier, the provinces are responsible for assisting victims. Canadian provinces are divided roughly into three groups: four provinces are truly leaders in victim assistance—Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Manitoba; four maritime provinces are somewhere in the middle; four others provide absolutely no assistance, including Northwest Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Human Resources committee  In 2006 and 2007, when we submitted the first requests to the federal government, we estimated that about 1,000 families in Canada could benefit from that time off, as those affected could decide to stay with their family for a while. During my experience in Quebec, sir, I met over 15 people who had lost their job.

Human Resources committee  In 2007, Quebec passed Bill 25, which amended the province's labour code to allow family members to go on leave for two years. That way, a job would be protected for two years. At that time, we asked the federal government to make a similar amendment, as there were two categories of workers in Quebec.

Human Resources committee  As I was saying earlier, most criminals in Canada are defended through legal aid. That costs each province about $50,000, as all those criminals go before the Supreme Court of Canada to appeal the jury's verdict. That was my case. Those proceedings take from five to seven years.

Human Resources committee  I have been involved in providing support to families for 10 years. According to my experience, very few families make less than $6,500. Those are exceptional cases. I personally think it's important to pass this bill quickly, and then see over the coming months whether any families are being left out.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. I would like to apologize because I didn't have enough time to translate my presentation into English, so I will go in French. I can stay as long as members have questions; don't worry about that. I have another committee after this one, but I'll stay for your questions.

Public Safety committee  Currently, the number of homicides committed using a gun is decreasing, but it is as though over the last decade we had seen an increase in this type of crime and found it necessary to act. That is the impression we are under, but it is quite the opposite. Since 1979, the crime and homicide rate involving the use of guns has been in free fall.