You've heard from witnesses here today, as well as other witnesses before this committee, that victims will come from their own experiences. For some victims, sentencing is a hugely important issue and is very much part of the process. For others, we've heard from victims where the important issue is restorative justice or other opportunities to work with offenders.
What is clear here is that the impacts of child sexual abuse—and I've heard Mr. Kennedy speak many times as well—and the implications are lifelong, and the cost to society is huge. We've talked a lot about the supports in place and ensuring the offender doesn't reoffend. You've heard me talk publicly about the importance, that if we really want to talk about a healthy society, we also need to make sure that the victims.... The legs of the stool are not equal. We need to ensure that victims have the supports and resources they need in place as well, to ensure they can cope.
We know the impact of abuse on people. We can talk about all of the concurrent issues that can come with it. I think we've heard from the witnesses here today, particularly about the importance, for many victims, of sentencing. In particular, we talked about minimums, but there are also consecutive sentences. I understand the proportionality and the totality of the system. But when we talk about acknowledging, we mean that each victim has been victimized. We need to ensure that the criminal justice system recognizes that.