Thank you very much.
I would like to thank the committee for having me. I would also like to thank Mr. Philip Lawrence for the work he has done for our family.
Before I get into our family details, I want you all to put yourselves in our family's position. Think about how you would have handled this. I want you to see the length of time and the lack of support with our current laws and no hope for justice.
Let me tell you the story of my sister, Gail Verleysen.
On September 10, 2021, Gail went to her job, working on a ranch in Alberta. This was her day job, but, more importantly, it was her passion. Gail was told to go and fix a fence on a nearby ranch. She loaded up a side-by-side and a post pounder to pull behind her vehicle.
She started down the road when a pair of transport trucks came up behind her. The first truck never slowed down or moved over to go around her. This truck impacted Gail's vehicle, causing her death. The second truck, which had a dash camera, was able to slow down and stop prior to reaching the accident scene.
The accused was charged a few months later, and then the mess began that has yet to end as of today. We saw an extreme waste of time by the accused trying to decide whether to plead guilty or not. He used 12 or more court appearances before a preliminary trial was ordered. While the trial did not produce as much information as we had hoped for, we respected the process.
We learned that the accused had the gas pedal to the floor and never let off until one second before impact. At the end of the day, the judge ordered a full trial. He said that he could not understand why anyone would drive directly into a vehicle or object.
We had a trial date set for January 2024. We finally felt like we would get this behind us. We received a notice a few months later that the accused or the defence attorney had another trial and that we would need a new date. We got pushed to January 2025. In early 2025, we received another notice of another delay.
When it was heard by the judge, we learned that the accused had left the country and could not attend court. We learned that the accused was here on a visa and that both the visa and his passport had expired. The accused returned to India in December 2024.
In January 2025, the judge ordered an extradition and a Canada-wide warrant for the accused. To date, we have yet to see the extradition paperwork completed. The accused's attorney said that he would return upon getting a new passport, which would take roughly nine months. He is still not here today. We have had no word of him returning or attempting to work towards ending this case.
I ask this committee to take action on a few things.
Families of victims like ours deserve a faster end to the legal process. We ask you to consider that delays be kept in check to provide victims a faster resolution in the criminal court system. We deserve the right to know how Gail died, which is still sealed from our family. This includes Gail's autopsy.
I ask you to put forward legislation that would take away the accused's passport while charged in order to prevent situations like ours. We ask you to consider new technologies, such as driver-facing cameras, so investigators can learn about an accident faster. We ask for the accused of a major injury or death to be financially responsible in a manageable way. We have learned that both the companies and the drivers rely on insurance companies for any right to a civil claim.
Last, I ask you to take a moment to talk with your colleagues and work with the Department of Justice and the Attorney General and lobby for a major overhaul. The system puts victims last and does nothing to bring closure. Instead, the current system drags victims through what feels like years of a never-ending process.
Our family has no hope left for criminal justice to be served or for even a trial to ever be completed. This should bother every single one of you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.