Thank you, Chair.
Welcome, Minister, to our committee this morning.
Your presentation included issues in relation to victim services and the crown witness program in the north. We often hear your government talk about the victims of crime and their issues, but we heard during our hearings, for example, that criminal injuries compensation in this country is sadly lacking. We had a woman whose daughter was murdered, and she had a tremendous number of expenses related to trying to look after her granddaughter and deal with the legal issues resulting from that.
We do know that criminal injuries compensation boards across the country have in many cases been disbanded. There are some victim services, however, replacing that, and I know you're talking about witness support in the north. Is your government considering reviving the support for victim services across the country? We recognize there are jurisdictional issues, but the whole criminal injuries compensation plan in this country, which was developed with the support of the federal government, was flourishing for a while. I used it quite regularly in the 1990s to assist victims of sexual assault in the Mount Cashel cases, but since then, with some exceptions, it's been largely disbanded. Do you see this as a priority, Mr. Nicholson, for your government, or are you going to stick with the court witness support issues?