Madam Speaker, I am absolutely delighted to hear the passion with which the member opposite commits to helping victims. I would like to give her and her government suggestions as to what we could do to increase the rights of victims.
First, we could give them a right to restitution from the offender. Second, we could give them a right to prompt return of property. These are rights they do not now have. Third, we could give them the right to be informed of services to help them in the trauma they have experienced. Next, we could give them the right to information and notification in a whole range of areas, which I would be very happy to supply to the member. We can give them a right to be heard by the crown and a right to be heard throughout the judicial process.
We could give them a right to privacy, a protection from unnecessary invasions of privacy; a right to refuse to be interviewed by defence counsel; a right to waiting areas in the court buildings that are separate from those used by the accused; a right to be free from intimidation; a right to have a prompt disposition of prosecutions; a right to be informed of victims' rights; a right to an explanation of their role and the scope and progress of the proceedings.
There are a whole range of areas where we can help victims in very practical ways.