Thank you for the question.
To all the witnesses, I'm so sorry for what you've experienced. The way we are treating victims of crime in Canada isn't just. It's not kind, it's not compassionate and it's not respectful.
Our office has made recommendations about notifications of prison transfers all the way back to 2010. They've not been implemented to this point, and we're hoping that this is a turning point.
What we recommended is that there not be any transfers if people haven't been notified at the time of the pending transfer that the decision has been considered and haven't been told how they submit their feedback and share concerns so that they're taken into consideration in that final decision.
Under the current law, what typically happens is that for all transfers to maximum or medium security, victims aren't notified until two days afterward. The standards we're providing are very poor.
In the multidisciplinary committee, I think what's encouraging is that it looks like there's an intent on CSC's side to try to address a broader range of issues affecting victims of crime. As an ombud for victims of crime, I'm hopeful about the concerns that we've certainly been raising. There are many areas like this where we can do better. We need to pay attention and we need to respond so that we're not causing further harm to people who have already been harmed.