I worked on the Victims Bill of Rights when it went through committee at the time. It has no application to the rights of a defendant who has been charged with a criminal.... With all due respect, this is not an application of emotional harm that has any relevance whatsoever to this situation or these hearings.
I would also say that the previous government's victims rights bill failed to protect the rights of victims. It should have been much stronger. It should have broadened some of the provisions that we have in other jurisdictions, that a victim has the right to be informed of certain things. To transport the idea of emotional harm from the Victims Bill of Rights into this legislation is egregious. I am very surprised to hear that being put forward by our technical experts here.
The Victims Bill of Rights is to give victims the opportunity to participate in the hearings, to know what their rights are and to show up at a certain time. The concept of emotional harm has never been used in assessing how to treat someone who is accused, and it goes quite against the notions of our basic concepts of criminal law and the presumption of innocence.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])