Justice Committee on March 6th, 2014

[The Chair, Conservative, Mike Wallace]

Welcome to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights meeting number 15. The orders of the day are, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the study of supplementary estimates (C), votes 5c and 20c.

Committee members, as you see, there is no actual voting for us to do as the last supply day was announced for the Monday we get back, by which, based on this calendar, these subsidies will be deemed reviewed by this committee. But that doesn't mean we cannot question the minister and his staff on those issues.

I'm going to be up front with everyone in terms of timing. We have the minister for half an hour. There will be a bell around noon, the half-hour bell, and then there will be a vote, which normally takes about 10 minutes. So the vote would be over at about 20 minutes to, and they're normally late, so about a quarter to. So, to be honest with you, we're not coming back for five minutes, so we have this half hour with the minister.

The minister will start with his opening statement, and then we'll do one round for sure before the bells start to ring.

Yes?

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Can we make the opening statement very short to give more chance to the members of the committee to ask questions? Otherwise we could just go in the lobby and hear the minister talk.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mike Wallace]

No problem.

Welcome, Minister MacKay, the floor is yours and the shorter the better for more questions.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Colleagues, I will endeavour to be brief in my opening remarks. Should you choose, while the bells are ringing, if you want to go past that, it's entirely up to you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mike Wallace]

As chair, when the bells ring we adjourn. Thank you.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

I'm pleased to appear before you once again, colleagues. I'm joined by Donald Piragoff, senior assistant deputy minister; deputy minister Bill Pentney; as well as Luc Robitaille, here to answer your questions on supplementary estimates (C). I know, Mr. Chairman, colleagues, that this is of interest to you.

I'm tasked as Attorney General, Minister of Justice, with helping to ensure that our justice system can continue to meet the needs of Canadians so that it can remain relevant, fair, and accessible, and so that Canadians can have confidence and trust in the system that serves them.

Our government has been moving forward on a number of priorities related to criminal justice so Canadians can continue to be proud of their justice system.

Chair, Canadians need to feel that their system is working for them. They need to feel safe in their communities, where they live, and if they are victimized, they need to feel confident that the justice system will in fact treat them with compassion, dignity, and respect.

As you know, we plan to introduce Canada's first federal victims bill of rights in the House of Commons very soon. This bill of rights reflects extensive consultations embarked on this summer, visiting every province and territory, where I met with victims of crime, advocacy organizations, provincial and territorial officials, other organizations including criminal justice associations, and stakeholders from across the country. I can say that those first-hand, front-line conversations gave me a much better understanding of how we build on our existing criminal law and federal programs. This bill will entrench the rights of victims of crime at the federal level.

One of the highlights, I must say, since becoming Minister of Justice was the opportunity to visit several child youth advocacy centres. I encourage members, if the opportunity arises, to do the same. I'm very heartened to witness the compassionate, caring work done in support of young victims and their families as they navigate an often complex and intimidating system.

I'm always heartened to witness the success that we are experiencing at these centres, creating multidisciplinary teams that effectively address the needs of their clients and help them find their way through very difficult events, lessening the trauma that they've experienced.

Chair, other issues that we've been tackling include cyberbullying, and as we have unfortunately seen in the cases of Amanda Todd, Rehtaeh Parsons, and others across the country, cyberbullying can have tragic consequences. We need a range of education, awareness, and prevention activities to combat cyberbullying, including a more robust criminal justice response. With the comprehensive legislation our government has introduced, we intend to provide one.

The legislation, Bill C-13, proposes to make it a criminal offence to distribute intimate images without the consent of the person depicted, targeting a serious form of cyberbullying that is not captured currently in the Criminal Code.

The Department of Justice is also partnering in the government's recently launched awareness campaign on cyberbullying, which includes television ads that encourage parents and teens to seek out facts and information that involve this issue so they can learn how to use the Internet more safely.

Mr. Chair, our government has always been committed to ensuring the integrity of our criminal justice system. We reiterated this commitment in the throne speech.

Our government has also reinstated legislation in the House of Commons to help ensure that the protection of Canadians is at the forefront of decisions about mentally disordered accused persons who have been found to be not criminally responsible and who pose a heightened risk to public safety. This legislation, Bill C-14, currently before the Senate, will ensure that the safety of the public should be the paramount consideration in the decision-making process, as contemplated in recent jurisprudence.

Our government also wants to ensure that our children are better protected against sexual exploitation, and we have just introduced legislation that will ensure that child sex offenders receive tougher sentences.

Mr. Chair, our government has always been committed to ensuring the integrity of our criminal justice system, and we reiterate that commitment within the Speech from the Throne. Other initiatives we continue to work on include legislation to protect service animals, on impaired driving, and on a response to the recent Supreme Court decision in Bedford.

The items that the Department of Justice has submitted to be tabled under supplementary estimates (C) will further our work towards protecting Canadians and ensuring safer streets and communities.

Chair, you will note that net increase of $3.76 million for the Department of Justice can be explained as follows.

One major area of expenditure is with respect to grants and contributions to enhance the victims fund to expand the reach of the federal victim strategy, especially for child advocacy centres, as previously mentioned, and time-limited operational funding for non-governmental organizations that serve victims.

There was also an increase of $3.78 million to deliver initiatives under the “Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2013-2018”. This road map is led by the Department of Heritage and was announced in budget 2013.

These initiatives reflect the efforts being made by the Department of Justice to establish an increasingly relevant and accessible justice system that meets the needs of Canadians by guaranteeing them improved access to justice in both official languages.

Chair, the majority of these funds, $3.6 million—and I will conclude here—are for grants and contributions to allow the department to continue the training component of the access to justice in both official languages fund.

The supplementary estimates (C) indicate a reduction of approximately $1.42 million as funds being available within the department's authorities, which represents a transfer of funds to Shared Services Canada as part of an initiative to modernize and streamline information technology systems.

To conclude, I thank you and the committee members for the invitation and for the important work you do, and I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mike Wallace]

Thank you, Mr. Minister.

Our first questioner is Madam Boivin from the New Democratic Party.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm fully aware of the limits of this morning's exercise, given that time allocation motions moved in the House have an impact not only on the bills in question, but also on our work in committee, which is extremely unfortunate.

I listened to the minister's speech as we look at these very particular supplementary estimates. He took this as an opportunity to talk, for the umpteenth time, about his plan for a victims' bill of rights, which I am anxiously awaiting to see introduced in the House. I am also anxious to discuss the cyberbullying bill as soon as possible. I hope we will have the opportunity to study them more thoroughly in due course. I also hope we will have enough time to do our jobs properly.

I would like to take this opportunity to prepare the minister for his next visit, since I imagine he will be back to discuss the main estimates.

This week I had the honour of meeting Chiefs Carl Sidney, Dave Joe and Georgina Sidney who told me about a justice program that exists as an agreement between the federal government and the Yukon. This agreement would give them the power to administer justice on their territory.

About $500,000 is still needed to implement that program. I would simply like to inform the minister that I expect him to be ready to discuss this matter at our next meeting. I am someone who likes to make the first move. I like discussing things openly, rather than showing up at the last minute with propositions. Now he knows. I hope to hear some good news at that time. I hope he will tell me that that agreement, which has existed since 2011, will finally be implemented. The only thing missing is the implementation agreement. I am stunned by this.

Votes 5c and 20c have to do with official languages. This is interesting, because we are currently studying part XVII of the Criminal Code.

With regard to part XVII of the Criminal Code and in relation to vote 5c, I would like to ask the minister if he has been following our analysis of the scope of part XVII regarding its practical application. Based on what we have heard, there are some major deficiencies when it comes to bilingualism in our courts.

The Commissioner of Official Languages appeared before us and said we will never be able to talk about access to justice until it is fully accessible in both official languages. Criminal law falls under federal jurisdiction. Is the minister prepared to broaden the scope of part XVII for bail hearings?

As for the upcoming victims' bill of rights, will the additional sums mentioned be used exclusively for that, or will they be used to make up for other programs that already exist on the ground?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Boivin, I appreciate your interest in this issue and the victims' bill of rights. Our government intends to introduce that bill in the House of Commons in this session of Parliament.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

So, before the end of June?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Yes, I hope so. It depends on the Leader of the Government in the House.

We have a lot of legislation, as you know, currently before the House, including the cyberbullying bill that you mentioned, that we hope will receive adequate debate and arrive here in this committee, as you've indicated.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

So you still recommit, for the cyberbullying, to give the opposition ample time to debate, ample days to review the bill?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Certainly, that is our intention. But as I said we are fighting a very busy schedule and there is a disproportionate number of bills emanating from the Department of Justice. But this is a priority for us, certainly for me, as I know it is for you. We want to give not only the House but this committee in particular ample opportunity to hear from witnesses and to give it proper examination.

With respect to the monetary sum of $100,000 that you indicate is somehow not forthcoming for Yukon's victim services programs—

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

It's $500,000. The Teslin Tlingit Council; they just need one little push to have this implemented.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Okay, if you will give me the organization at the conclusion of this session, I will undertake to look into it, by all means.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Excellent. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mike Wallace]

Is there anything else?

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Well, he's got his notice. He hasn't addressed the language issue, though.

Are you willing to look into maybe opening up section 17 a bit? Is there any openness from your department on that issue?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

I should say that I met, prior to the release of the report, with the commissioner. He has made some very specific recommendations with respect to increasing access to justice for Canadians, particularly those outside of Quebec and New Brunswick where service in both official languages remains a challenge. I know I can speak personally for my own province of Nova Scotia, where we do have a significant Acadian population, that this remains a challenge.

One of the big challenges, with which you're familiar, is the lack of francophone judges able to conduct sometimes very sophisticated, complex trials, both civil and criminal, in French.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

But it was interesting that the Department of Justice officials were telling us there were sufficient judges. Sometimes I wonder who is saying the right thing. Are there sufficient judges and just a question of allocating them to the right territories, or is it that there is a lack of judges?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

It's not the number of judges, to be clear; it is in fact the number of those with the language skills to conduct trials without translation.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

That's what I'm saying. Your Department of Justice officials were at our committee and were saying that they were.... It's sad that I don't have the quote here, though I can provide it to you, but they definitely answered a question from my colleague Mr. Godin by saying that there were ample bilingual, able judges to hear, that it was not a problem. We're addressing section 17. So is it that under section 17 there is no problem but that for the rest of the justice system there is? What the hell...?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Well, as you know, having practised law, Madame Boivin, we don't appoint provincial court judges. I can speak only for the federal judges, for whom we are making efforts and providing training, and not only for our own judges, those federally appointed, about whom I suggest I agree with my department, particularly among Federal Court judges, we have ample numbers of bilingual judges.

I'm speaking to the provincial court level, from which the majority of criminal jurisprudence emanates. There is a challenge there. We have undertaken a program to provide language training to provincial court judges, particularly those outside Quebec and New Brunswick.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mike Wallace]

Thank you for those questions, Minister.

From the Conservatives, we have Monsieur Goguen.

[Robert Goguen, Conservative, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you, Minister, for appearing. Thank you to the officials for appearing again.

On February 20 you announced funding for Justice Canada to host an event for National Victims of Crime Awareness Week. It will be in April 2014. And of course you were recently in my riding of Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe at the YWCA, where you made another important justice announcement.

As you know, of course, the YWCA is an important member of our community, and they do great work. Could you elaborate on why the funding for these community organizations is so important, Minister?