First of all, we certainly acknowledge that there may be issues for some offenders in terms of ability to pay, but what also needs to be part of that conversation is the burden that victims carry in the wake of a crime. Their costs are as a direct result of the crime. This can include some very practical issues for victims of crime, such as those I mentioned in my opening comments: medical attention, lost wages, and those types of things. I hear from victims across this country about their struggle and the impacts of crime on victims and about their struggle to access services.
Victims need to have supports in place, and those supports need to be funded. The moneys raised in the surcharge will contribute to this. I certainly want to acknowledge that I did look at those statements, and I've looked at testimony from other witnesses. I've looked at the fact—it's my understanding—that there are seven provinces and territories that have the fine option program, but the other three provinces have other mechanisms in place.
The federal victim surcharge was implemented in 1988 and was amended in 2000 to make it automatic. I think you're referring to some of the same studies that I've seen. The New Brunswick study from 2006 showed that in 66.5% of the cases the surcharge was waived, and in 99% of them we have no record of why it was waived.