moved that Bill C-323, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (order of discharge), be read the second time and referred to a committee.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on my Bill C-323. Prior to the last election I served as a probation officer and family court counsellor in the British Columbia provincial attorney general's ministry. I served for over 20 years. I spent each day working with the Canadian Criminal Code and I learned firsthand the system's weaknesses and strengths. I also discovered the loopholes that aided offenders to walk when they should have been properly held to account. Far too often I saw justice not being served. The criminals were benefiting and the victims were not served. There was little neglected victims to do. Advancing the plight of victims of crime is one of the motivations for me to serve in the House.
When constituents in New Westminster-Burnaby elected me as their representative in 1993 I made a commitment to take a firm stand on behalf of the victims of crime. Whether changes to the Canadian Criminal Code or to some other statute, I promised something would be done to protect the public and to change the balance of the operation of the law to be more in favour of victims.
On May 1 of this year I had the distinct pleasure to introduce Bill C-323. Today there is even a greater satisfaction that the bill was deemed a votable item with a chance of becoming law. Small changes such as those in Bill C-323 may not sufficiently change the overall system to the way we would like but it certainly represents a good start.
Approximately a year and a half ago a Vancouver area lawyer approached me with a concern that a loophole in the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act was enabling offenders to be relieved of their commitment to pay civil court judgments. It was a loophole that was causing victims further suffering. It was clear that a simple amendment to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act would eliminate the possibility for a person to use personal bankruptcy to escape from any owed damages awarded in civil court. Thus I have been working to bring forward my private member's bill.
When a person commits an assault or battery, a wilful act that harms another, the victims can sue for damages through a civil lawsuit. However, under the current BIA if the offender claims bankruptcy after being found liable in court the damages awarded to the victim are cleared, causing the victim to once again suffer hardship.
Subsection 178(1) of the bankruptcy act lists various things an order of discharge does not release a bankrupt person from. The law has long recognized there are some things that cannot be forgiven and will remain. It takes into account alimony, maintenance and support of a spouse or child, debt arising out of fraud, embezzlement or a fine, penalty or restitution order imposed by a criminal court in respect of an offence.
Therefore according to the way the act currently reads a bankrupt person cannot be relieved of paying a traffic fine yet can be relieved of paying damages for something like sexual assault. I do not think any member of the House would disagree the statute must be changed as soon as possible. We must provide some appropriate balance.
In April I read an article in the Vancouver Province newspaper about Sherleen Hackett who was awarded $145,000 in damages for sexual abuse by her stepfather on June 28, 1991. Stepfather James Hackett was ordered to make payments of $500 a month. According to the article he made one full payment of $500, four payments of $100, and then filed for bankruptcy. It was as easy as that to turn the legal system on its head.
Allow me to cite several other examples so those following can fully comprehend the severity of the fundamental flaw in this statute. Tammy Carr of White Rock, B.C. sued her stepfather for sexually assaulting her for six years and was awarded $42,513. Her stepfather, David Graham, filed for bankruptcy six months after the judgment. Payment to date: none.
Cynthia Shefford of Alexis Creek, B.C. was awarded $357,743 by a supreme court jury for the sexual abuse committed by her father, Leonard Klassen. The father was ordered to pay his daughter $500 a month for 12 years. Three months after the trial Klassen filed for bankruptcy. Payment to date: none. The amount of Shefford's award is the largest awarded in the country to date, but what good is it to have such a record amount if not a penny is received by the one who needs it most, the victim?
My bill would make a simple amendment to subsection 178(1) of the act, as part (a) of the act currently says that an order of discharge does not release the bankrupt from any fine, penalty, restitution order or other in similar nature to a fine, penalty or
restitution order imposed by a court in respect of an offence or any debt arising out of a recognizance of bail.
Bill C-323 would make an addition to this part:
An order of discharge does not release the bankrupt from any damages in respect of an assault or battery awarded by a court pursuant to a judgment rendered in a civil proceeding and any interest on the damages before or after judgment ordered by the court or payable by law.
The amendment is a brief but fundamental change to the act. Not only would it strengthen the statute in legal terms, it would strengthen the public's view of the operation of Canada's justice system. Some of the imbalance and absurdity in law would be removed.
I do not think many Canadians know debtors may currently avoid substantial payment on sexual assault judgments by making an assignment in bankruptcy. However, as more and more people file their cases in the courts, public awareness will increase. The more our legal system gives the offender a loophole, the more disregard will arise.
If is nothing is done to such a small section of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act the justice system as a whole will be in danger of being viewed as completely in disrepute. The sad thing is Canadians already look at our justice system and think it is not reflective of them.
One need look only at the Young Offenders Act to see examples of ineffectiveness. The government continues to claim what it is doing will save lives and make Canadians feel more safe. In the last two years the Liberal government has made several changes to the Criminal Code and the Young Offenders Act, and yet my constituents still complain to me they feel afraid to walk the streets.
The government says these changes need time to be implemented but I believe it knows that all the time in the world to discuss and defer will make absolutely no difference to the crime statistics. The criminal law changes made so far by the government are anaemic and do not sufficiently respond to the desires of mainstream Canadian values.
The situation is similar to that with intersections and street lights. Before a municipality will put up a street light at a busy intersection it waits for a certain number of serious accidents to occur. If no accidents occur, it is believed a street light is not needed. Usually someone has to die first.
Therefore a responsible government would address a problem before it gets out of control. The amendment in my bill should have been introduced years ago or at least near the time that such cases were coming before the courts.
This is the job of federal departments. There are legal experts who must know the bankruptcy act inside and out. They knew there were loopholes in subsection 178 for years but until now nobody has addressed them.
In 1992 British Columbia's legislature took a lead with this issue by amending its own limitation act. The amendment removed any limitation period for bringing action for damages for sexual assault. This is interesting in that the issue was addressed in a provincial legislature in 1992 and yet it takes the federal government another three years to address it at the federal level.
The government is not in the vicinity of the eight ball at all. It has not recognized as a matter of urgent priority those victims suffering because of legislative inadequacy.
In 1994 an ad hoc committee of women for reform of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act submitted a discussion paper on why subsection 178(1) needs to be amended. I will summarize some of the benefits it believes will result by amending the act.
It avoids a negative public perception regarding the impact of bankruptcy on sexual assault judgments and consequent disrepute of the act. It sends a clear message to sexual abusers that the act cannot be used to avoid payments as a result of judgments.
It deters abusers by eliminating a means of escaping the cost to be paid for sexual abuse. It provides greater certainty for victims, the courts, trustees in bankruptcy and the superintendent.
It provides a greater likelihood that victims who are able to realize civil judgments will be able to pay for their own treatment and will be less likely to be dependent on an already overburdened social services resources.
It provides consistency with current federal initiatives to lessen the burden on the social safety net. Abusers will be made to bear the costs of the victims' recovery process rather than society as a whole or the victims themselves.
A lawyer friend of mine who suggested the amendment has been pressing both the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Industry to make such changes that I have included in my bill.
I will read a letter the Minister of Industry sent to my friend on April 6, 1995:
My colleague, the honourable Minister of Justice, recently sent me a copy of your letter of August 16, 1994 recommending that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act be amended to include awards of damages in serious assault cases among those not released by a discharge in bankruptcy. I regret the delay in replying to you.
Your letter is quite timely, as I am now considering a number of possible BIA amendments to be included in a bill targeted for introduction later in the spring or in the fall. Among the amendments under consideration is one along the lines you have proposed. Your letter argues strongly in favour of such an amendment, and it will be given due consideration.
Thank you for bringing your concerns to the government's attention.
On November 24, 1995 the Minister of Industry introduced Bill C-109, which included amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, including a change to subsection 178(1). I applaud the minister for his recent initiative. I wish the change could have come about sooner, but I understand the minister wanted to make many amendments to the act besides my proposal.
On page 61 of Bill C-109 and carrying over to page 62, there is a small section that reads:
Subsection 178(1) of the act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a): (a.1) any award of damages by a court in civil proceedings in respect of an assault;
The minister's bill finally attempts to fill in the loophole, but I am suggesting my wording is better. The government bill deals only with the word assault, which is from the Criminal Code. My bill deals with both assault and the purely civil tort created from the historical term battery.
It also deals with interest on moneys on such civil awards, which the government bill overlooks. I am also now suggesting that in view of further advice, the term interest on moneys awarded should apply to the whole section 178, not just to the assault award section as suggested.
In addition, the bill should include the term wrongful death.
Currently the government bill envisions that an assaulter will not be cleared of civil liability damages and bankruptcy, but if the assault is serious enough to eventually cause death then the offender becomes free. The inherent message is for the perpetrator to do more harm and actually kill the victim. Then the civil liabilities will not survive the bankruptcy. That angle must also be covered.
I have discussed these provisions with the minister. I will be looking for some positive moves from him in the next week. He should publicly promise to approve the appropriate clauses of Bill C-109 so that perhaps I might find it acceptable to withdraw my bill and have the government fully take over my initiative.
So far the minister has appeared co-operative and open to discussions. I compliment him for bringing Bill C-109 forward. It is a technical clean-up of many outdated sections of the old statute which was based on reviews and consultations that were started by the Conservative government of the last Parliament. The minister has appropriately built on that beginning and we look forward to speedy passage. I hope I will be able to report to Parliament that as legislators we will get this thing done.
Victims of crime should wear no political label. I commemorated again for our party on December 6 the national tragedy of the murder of the 14 women from Montreal. The 14 roses on display in the Commons lobby on December 6 were a sober reminder of the obligation of Parliament and what it owes to victims of all kinds from every region of the country.
The platitudes have reached high levels in the House for years now about the remembrance of December 6. Yet little in actual legislation has been passed that directly uplifts the plight of victims. However, with my bill we have a practical and concrete chance to act positively. We will see if the Liberals social philosophy can measure up to the expectations of mainstream Canadian values and the hopes and aspirations of Canadians even from an ignored British Columbia.
I am being very direct in my comments, for the hopes of hurting children and grandparents were dashed by uncaring Liberals on the justice committee this week when a private member's bill from the member for Mission-Coquitlam granting grandparents legal standing in divorce courts was summarily dismissed. It was shot down by the government after many brave Liberal backbenchers dared defy cabinet signals on the bill and actually vote for change. They voted for the real people's agenda. They voted for the people. Then the top down Liberal mindset took over and the old style political games were played by the government against the hopes of ordinary people.
Here we have it again: Liberal members not supporting victims. They cannot deny it. Their jaws are quivering, but their votes are now forever part of the parliamentary record. The pattern runs deep with them. It has been allowed to run too long for our country's well-being.
Can one wonder when I reflect the cynicism about government from my constituents? They feel government is something done to them rather than for them. In mock amazement the justice minister said to me on national television that I was too cynical when I recounted to him a few of the missed justice system reforms that he as the minister had chosen not to pursue. I cannot be too hard on him. After all he has an educational handicap in that he is a lawyer.
Here is another initiative placed right in the lap of the Liberals, private member's Bill C-323. This measure is not supposed to be handled in a partisan manner. The country is watching. I hope the House will get it right this time and fully support the kind of initiative I have brought forward to help victims of crime and have perpetrators pay for and restore what they have done. Let us have offenders directly accountable to victims.
I am encouraged that uncharacteristically of Liberals the Minister of Industry might not be as misguided as the justice minister when it comes to being in touch with mainstream Canadian values. We all know how good people can become rather strange when they acquire an extensive legal education and then call themselves
lawyers. This minister seems reasonable enough to spread the credit around and advance the people's agenda rather than merely a Liberal agenda. In view of the early signals I have received from the Minister of Industry, I am hopeful that my bill, or more correctly the people's measures, will get to the next stage.
I urge members to dig deep, overcome themselves, be generous of spirit and support a good idea. I am also calling upon the Minister of Industry to give the proposals most serious consideration.