Thank you very much, Mr. Wilks. Those are really important questions.
Restitution, simply put, is part of the sentencing order to allow victims to be repaid or put back in a place to the greatest extent possible where they would have been had the crime not occurred. Restitution is an effort to cover losses, whether they be financial or property losses, that have been experienced. Where this becomes difficult, and some would say impossible, is in trying to restore any psychological or physical harm experienced by a victim. That's where counselling and deferring medical costs is part of a restitution order that can be made by the court. Losses must be calculated for a judge to make an accurate restitution order, and they must be directly attributable to the crime. That, in a nutshell, is restitution.
As far as why it is important, it's part of the healing. It's part of the sense of true justice that victims be given acknowledgement of and restitution for their loss. It's a very important principle within the justice system. We heard a lot during the consultation from individuals who felt that offenders didn't truly appreciate the impact the offences had on them. Restitution is a form of rehabilitation as well, I would suggest. The offender is giving back and trying to put the individual back in the place they would have been had they not been harmed.
Victims often talked about the out-of-pocket expenses throughout the process: they were required to commute back and forth to the courtroom; they had missed work; they had to make child care arrangements. They were out of pocket. It was costing them further. It was as if the crime continued to be committed. Restitution is a very important part that we felt necessary to ensconce in the bill and to bring about true effect for the victim and changes that would help at least blunt the impact of the crime, in terms of the financial and sometimes psychological and physical impact that victims experience.
Why is it important that we do this? Why were these changes necessarily included in this bill? It's already part of the Criminal Code. It's our hope that this will bring about greater enforcement. What are the mechanisms to do so? This will empower courts, we believe, to follow through, to make necessary adjustments in some cases. I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb in suggesting that some provinces should look at their victim fine surcharges, look at alternative measures, programs that can be put in place that will give victims a greater sense of satisfaction, so there are efforts to see true compensation and restitution. Also, of course, civil remedies can be put in place that will allow for greater compliance with these restitution orders.
That's a long answer to four specific questions, but we felt that restitution is a very important part of a victim's right throughout the entire process and we think this will give it greater teeth.