Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want everyone at this committee to remark not only on the evidence that we've heard from victims and victim groups but also from some members of this particular committee who have been around for a couple of years.
We've heard from a number of victims over the course of my tenure as a new parliamentarian, and the message was extremely consistent from the victims: It was that they feel that the Crown attorneys and the criminal justice system are completely unresponsive to their needs.
They want information. They want to feel part of the litigation. They want to feel part of the team. It's for that very reason that I'm asking the Liberal bench to consider amending this to strengthen it or to simply to delete it. The victims want to have information shared by the Crown. They don't want a Crown attorney to simply say that the order has been made but that they can't say anything because they'll put themselves in a conflict of interest.
Crowns have an obligation to the community. They are public servants. They are ministers of justice, but they cannot and should not exclude witnesses in discussing pertinent and really relevant information, which this currently is.
Thank you.