Minister, thank you for being here today.
I was really pleased to see the introduction of this victims bill of rights. I've had the opportunity to speak to victims of crime in my city of Mississauga and across Canada. Many times I heard that they suffered the assault, the harm; they made a statement to the police and heard nothing further until they were called to trial one day and treated like just another witness. They didn't know what was happening in the investigation, in the prosecution, yet the harm was done to them and to their family.
You mentioned in your opening statement that the victims bill of rights contains a right to information. That seems, from what I've heard.... I want to also say that I had the opportunity to serve on the Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women, as did Ms. Bennett. We heard from some of those victims and the families of those victims, and this was a key concern of theirs. They hadn't received information both about the investigation into what happened to their loved one and about the prosecution. When someone was charged, they got very little information about the whole prosecutorial process.
I wonder if you could tell us a little more about what the right to information means in this bill and how it would make a difference in the lives of victims.