I always say that on February 20, when my children were murdered, the person who existed that day died with them.
In what I do, I know now that being alive is a privilege. Whether this has an impact on me or not, I know that it will be a good thing for the other families who may follow me, because, unfortunately, there will be other crimes.
One important element in the bill would be the victim's statement. That seems to me to be an important point in Bill C-54. I was interrupted because all of this was very rules-bound. I wanted to show the photograph of my children, but my freedom of expression was curtailed. I think that this bill could lead to some changes.
There's also the fact of having to go back before a judge. Ideally, I would see the trial judge because currently, people wash their hands of things to some extent. They feel they are there only to assess the person who was found not criminally responsible. In my situation, I found it quite remarkable that the individual would have made progress in only one month, when he was assessed by the same psychiatrist. According to me, this would allow for a more critical perspective. I am aware of the fact that the board does very good work, but sometimes, because of regulations related to the right to information, it is difficult to assess the work these people do.
In Quebec, you see, these things are done behind closed doors. There are people at the Institut Philippe-Pinel in Montreal, there are some in Trois-Rivières and some in Quebec, but those who committed the most serious crimes are mostly sent to the Montreal Philippe-Pinel Institute and no one evaluates the work the people involved do in that regard.
To answer your question, I think that this bill offers a certain protection because of the fact that the accused would return before the same judge.
In my situation, we would have to see. I don't think it would apply.