Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you for your attendance today. I very much appreciate it.
First of all, my heartfelt sympathy to all of you for your loss. I can't imagine what it would be like, but I can imagine that it would not be fun. I want you to know that we all feel that pain here today, especially when we hear your testimony.
My dad was a World War II veteran also. Madam Jong, I know that your father was, and I know that he was also a farmer and rancher. My father was as well. He settled in Westbank instead of Quebec, hence the last name that has a ring of French in it.
You testified some time ago in relation to the Safe Streets and Communities Act. I think it was in October 2011. You said:
Sentencing serves a number of purposes, including ensuring compensation for harm caused to victims or the community. Compensation must therefore be an integral part of the sentence. However, compensation is currently optional and imposed only if the amount can easily be determined.
Maybe that's in part why we're here today. Congratulations on that, and for speaking for victims.
I was a lawyer for some period of time and I saw it waived on a continual basis and I couldn't understand why that was. Often these people would have the ability to pay, but it was waived just as a matter of principle. In fact, in up to 90% of cases, it's waived. That is troubling indeed.
What I was curious about in relation to this was what you thought of the agenda itself. There are three things in particular. We're doubling it. We're making it mandatory. We're also going to try to make sure in cooperation with the provinces that they have a fine option available as there is in Alberta.
What do you think of those three particular strategies? Are they consistent with your view of protecting victims instead of criminals?