I feel that the same government logic will be followed. I am starting to understand the bill a bit better. The fact is that victims have rights, but they do not know exactly what those rights are. They will not be provided with any sort of a written list. We can already see what types of problems will arise.
All victims have the right to obtain certain information. I am not the one calling for this. This is something victims have told when they testified. By telling them that they have to request the information, the government is imposing a burden on those individuals. It is argued that this approach would infringe on victims' right to privacy or their right to choose to make this request or not. The right to obtain information about the status and outcome of the investigation into the offence is not a problem. Victims may consult the crown prosecutor—or the investigator, depending on the procedure used in the region in question—and decide they don't need to obtain the information.
We have some lawyers around this table.
Regardless of your area of practice, the client is no longer the number one priority. Cases in which victims are informed of their rights and know what is happening are much easier to navigate.
Rights are supposedly being granted, but those rights are available only on request. Once again, I think the government should be consistent. It says it wants to refocus victims' rights and provide victims with a bill or rights, but those individuals should not have to ask for those rights. I don't think that makes any sense.