Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I sincerely want to thank all witnesses today. I've listened very carefully. I did some research on my own prior to your appearance, and you bring collectively such a wonderful perspective on a deeply flawed system.
This particular bill was pronounced in 2015 with great fanfare as trying to level the playing field for victims across this country. Leaving aside my profound disappointment that the office itself does not have an ombudsperson in place and has not had that vacancy filled since the end of September of last year and now hearing through one of the witnesses that the mandatory review has not taken place within five years, this is deeply concerning to me.
As a former prosecutor, I often remarked there was a lack of balance in our criminal justice system, that the pendulum itself had so shifted in favour of the accused that the victims often felt left out of the process. It's incumbent upon all justice participants, particularly including those in the Crown attorneys offices, to try to include victims in the decision-making. That's usually the process I adopted as a prosecutor, trying to develop that rapport and that trust to make them feel that they're part of the system and to keep them informed throughout the entire process. The way that I conducted my prosecutions vastly differed from my colleagues and vastly differs, I might say, from the entire province of Crown attorneys, at least in Ontario.
Can I get some sense from any witness as to what additional steps by way of professional training you recommend for justice participants to ensure that the victims feel an equal participant in this process?