Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you as well, Minister.
Today's discussion is extremely interesting, and I think it is necessary.
In the current justice system, the biggest obstacle that victims come up against in their search for justice is delays. I am not making this up. There was a report from the Canadian Bar Association and a report on access to justice from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Many organization have also looked at the issue of access to justice.
We have heard of many cases where proceedings were stopped because of unreasonable delays. The Supreme Court is going to look at the definition of “reasonable delay”. The justice system is under so much pressure right now that the Supreme Court has to look at what a reasonable delay is.
Bill C-32 is very long and gives victims many rights. There is a great deal of pressure on justice system stakeholders. What will happen? Everyone agrees that there is a serious shortage of resources. Delays are unreasonable and access to justice has become completely ridiculous.
I understand that the government wants to give victims a very important role. That is quite legitimate, and victims have that right, but what will they do when they have to wait years before they get justice and they may not even have access to a lawyer? They may make more money, but not enough.
You know something about the problems that exist. How will you enforce this legislation? My colleague also asked you how you would ensure that each province has the resources it needs to enforce these rights. Right now, all the stakeholders in the justice system are saying that they do not have the money or the resources to do so.