I didn't have just one conversation with the victim. There were several conversations over a period of time. There were things I said I had to do, ease their mind, get them some resources and those types of things.
One of the comments was, “It doesn't matter, because it goes to the top. No one will ever do anything.” My thought process was that I report to the minister and he reports to the minister. I think this is of national concern. Let me talk to the minister and he'll get me some advice. That didn't happen.
When I talked about.... I didn't say I went to the minister looking for top cover, but it would have been nice to be able to go back to the victim and say, “I've got you some top cover.” That's what I was looking for, that type of advice to come back, the guidance, to let me know he's going to do something. That's what I was referring to when I said top cover.
I didn't just have one conversation with this victim and walk away. That's not how it worked. There were many conversations. During the first one, I heard the allegation and watched the emotion. I then tried to bring resources to bear. Then we allowed the person to speak on what their future looked like. One of the things she was looking for was, “If only there was someone you could talk to who would give you the assurance you need.” I thought, in this particular case, looking at the allegation and who it was made against, the minister was the guy for that.