Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for his statement. It is certainly one in which many Canadians are interested. They definitely want to see things change in this whole area.
Will the minister clarify a point in reference to the support mechanisms for victims when comparing what is in place already for the offenders.
An individual will commit a crime and immediately he has various people coming to his aid. In fact, he need not even ask. First, he has legal aid and he is represented at the expense of the taxpayer by a lawyer. He has counselling at his disposal. He is placed in a system of incarceration that looks after his every need, health needs included. He has rehabilitation programs offered to him which he has no requirement really to follow through on. There is in effect little or no punishment other than the fact that he is removed from society and cannot move about with any degree of freedom, until he is placed on parole.
Before the end of his sentence of course he is eligible for parole. The Parole Board gives every consideration to him and little consideration of the effect of his presence in society after that decision is made. Again, I am referring to the view that many people in society have of the parole department.
As of late, several Supreme Court rulings have further jeopardized society, creating more victims, due to the fact that they have ruled on cases that have actually inhibited investigators from effectively doing their jobs.
My question to the minister is where are the forces, the established agencies, you might say, rushing to the aid of victims when in fact everything is moving in the opposite direction?