Okay. I'm sorry about that. I don't know what happened. It was working earlier.
The federal government has clear obligations to victims of crime. The 1985 United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power sets out clearly that governments must provide victims with access to justice and fair treatment, enable offenders to make fair restitution, offer victim assistance and support services, and set up financial compensation programs. It is my position that Canada has largely failed to meet or maintain international standards and obligations to victims of crime.
Passed in 2015, the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights is weak legislation. It is symbolic rather than taking real effect, and guarantees neither rights nor services to victims of crime. It was drafted in such a way as to purposely deny enforceable rights to victims of crime. The act specifically states that none of its provisions can be interpreted as giving any victims standing in court to challenge authorities on whether their rights have been met.
When I was ombudsperson, I recommended the act be amended to provide a legal remedy for its violation. Currently, the act prevents victims from legally enforcing their rights either through judicial review of decisions or other administrative mechanisms.
Further, the CVBR places the onus on traumatized victims and survivors to know and assert their rights instead of requiring criminal justice officials, who have a duty of care to victims, to provide information automatically. I believe the act should be amended to clearly define roles and responsibilities of criminal justice officials towards victims.
The act must set out which officials are meant to inform victims of their rights and when they must do so. It must also require them to document what information is shared, how protections are delivered, etc. Authorities such as the police, Crown prosectors and corrections and parole officials must be accountable for providing the rights that are laid out in the act to information, protection and support, and they should also have to report publicly on how they do so.
Implementation of the CVBR has been a failure, in my view. There is a lack of data collected, reported and recorded at all levels in relation to the rights that are provided in the bill. There has been no effort made to measure the impact of the bill or outcomes for victims. Significant investments are needed to improve the recording of data by all criminal justice institutions.
Implementation also requires the development and evaluation of ongoing training for officials working in the criminal justice system at the federal, provincial and territorial levels who come into contact with victims. This has not happened. It is critical that an evaluation take place to examine the content of the training, who's delivering it, how much training individuals receive and what the impacts are. We must evaluate the effectiveness of the training on criminal justice personnel, especially trauma-informed principles and anti-racist education, so that we can deconstruct power and privilege.
In my view, the objectives set out in the act have not been met. Like I said in the progress report, the implementation has been sporadic and inconsistent. Training opportunities for justice officials have been very limited, and there has been no mass public education effort to inform Canadians that they have rights if they become a victim of crime. Thus, the situation of victims of crime has not fundamentally changed since the bill was passed.
Victims of crime face a very heavy burden in the Canadian justice system. I know you know this, but we expect them to report the crime, to provide evidence, to bear witness, to be cross-examined on the stand and to relive their traumas over and over as they tell their truth, yet we provide them with very little assistance or protection to do so. Unsupported victims are less likely to come forward. When victims are not recognized as rights-bearing individuals in the criminal justice system, the system is less effective.
Canadians deserve transparency. They deserve to know whether our justice system is treating victims fairly and supporting them to recover and if it's respecting their legislated rights or not. Canadians lose trust in the justice system when the rights of persons harmed are systemically overlooked.
Thank you.