Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to take part in the debate on Bill C-79, an act to amend the Criminal Code (victims of crime) and another act in consequence.
This bill addresses several legitimate public expectations regarding how our criminal justice system should treat the victims of crime.
Criminal justice is defined in various ways. Some will say that the purpose of the justice system is to punish those who have broken the law. In fact, living in society involves respect for certain fundamental values that help maintain social equilibrium. If we do not respect these values, we expose ourselves to the disapproval of our fellow citizens and face a sentence judged appropriate by the community. This sentence must meet various considerations, one of them being to protect society. The sentence imposed must make it possible to decrease, if not eliminate, the probability of a repeat offence, thus lowering the medium and long term social costs of crime.
The criminal justice system therefore has a very significant social dimension. This is shown primarily by the fact that it is the state that brings criminals before the courts. Contrary to civil proceedings, it is the attorney general, representing the community, who must defend our interests by proving the accused's guilt before the courts.
In this context, we see that criminal justice is evaluated basically according to our shared needs. When we pass legislation aimed at fighting crime, we do so in light of an overall analysis of the situation. We avoid legislating based on specific, individual, cases. We ensure that the justice system is properly integrated.
A good body of legislation is described as being consistent, with punishments that match the crimes committed, and as effectively addressing the harmful consequences of these crimes on society in general.
Crimes have always had names associated with them. The suspect's first and last names appear on the court decision. The media pick them up, and associate a face and an identity with them. The suspected perpetrator has not only rights, but also has obligations, freedoms but also constraints.
As we have seen, crime has an adversary: the state. Criminal justice does not just involve us and the crime, us and evil. There are also, above all, those who have been the victims.
Too often we lose sight of the fact that crime, to which we have attached a name, also involves another set of names, the first and last names of the person who has been killed, hurt or otherwise affected, a person with a face and a specific identity. That person might be our friend, our relative, a child we know.
That name imposes the unlooked-for status of victim of crime, with all the suffering, torment, distress and of course anger that entails.
The legal process the victims are required to take part in does nothing to lessen all this suffering. On the contrary, the victim is forced to face the perpetrator and to relive in every last detail an unbearable event he or she wishes to forget as quickly as possible. The criminal justice system is therefore often perceived as more of an irritant than a balm.
The members of the House of Commons must assume their responsibilities and work to reduce the negative effects of criminal proceedings on the victims of criminal acts. They must not only ensure that the victims are not obliged to relive the drama, but they must also enable them to speak out.
Accordingly, in the spring of 1998, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights began to study the role of victims of criminal acts in the criminal justice system. After lengthy consultation, the committee, of which I am a member, tabled a report, some elements of which are reproduced in the bill before us today.
In this regard, we would point out that the amendments proposed by the committee and approved by the minister in her Bill C-79 serve to protect victims and involve them in the criminal justice system and to increase the funding available for the services offered them. We will see briefly how each of them is expressed in the bill.
The so-called protective measures include the fact that the bill recognizes the urgency of better protecting victims as they are cross-examined by a person accused of sexual assault. The Bloc Quebecois has repeatedly asked in recent years that this protection be reinforced, since cross-examination is probably the hardest thing for a victim to face, especially when the accused is doing the questioning.
Unfortunately, sexual offences are regularly committed by people known to the victims. In fact, the statistics and files on these cases indicate that a friend, a parent or someone in a position of trust, an object of affection, not hatred, is often found to be responsible for the sexual aggression.
Since the victim must be very brave to report this sort of offence, even more courage is, understandably, required to face one's aggressor in court. The additional protection provided under Bill C-79, which prohibits cross-examination by the accused of victims under 18 years of age, is therefore a step in the right direction. It will certainly allow the most vulnerable to prepare for the effects of this difficult stage of the process.
This limitation for victims under the age of 18 also ensures that the bill meets the test of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
With respect to the provisions for greater victim participation in the judicial process, there are the amendments regarding victim impact statements.
Once Bill C-79 has been passed, victims will be allowed to read a statement describing the impact of the crime on their life and that of their family. This amendment would have the merit of allowing victims to play a more active role in sentencing mechanisms. In addition, the new wording of the Criminal Code would require judges to ensure that victims were duly informed of the possibility of preparing such a statement.
Parliament has responsibilities towards the victims of crime. However, its role, although extremely important, is linked to the criminal procedures defined in the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. In essence, the role of the Parliament of Canada is limited by the distribution of powers.
In fact, under this distribution of powers, the provinces have primary jurisdiction for coming to the aid of victims of crime. Any legislative measure concerning victims, other than measures set out in criminal law and proceedings, falls exclusively under provincial jurisdiction.
As an example, the Government of Quebec has implemented a system of co-operation between the CSST, the Department of Justice and the Department of Finance in order to provide financial support to victims through the application of its crime victims compensation act.
The Quebec Department of Justice funds a number of programs including those offered by the Quebec crime victims assistance centres.
These provincial program may be numerous, but they are also costly. Maintaining these essential services cannot be assured unless the funding is equal to the demand. Since 1988, part of this funding comes from a victim fine surcharge that is imposed by the courts.
This compensation is a penalty over and above any sentence that is intended to involve the criminal directly in making reparation to the victim. In fact, it goes toward the funding of provincial victim assistance services.
It must be made clear that the victim fine surcharge does not come from any of the resources generated by the federal government. By imposing this surcharge, the court taps into the financial capacity of the offender, not that of the federal government. Thus, in approving any change to the victim fine surcharge system, great care must be taken that the federal government does not play any part whatsoever in the funding of provincial services for victims.
According to the provincial prosecutors involved in the various victim assistance programs, the surcharge authorized and collected under the Criminal Code is not enough for improvements to the victim assistance programs.
By making this subject to a maximum of 15% of the fines imposed on sentencing, or setting it at $35 if there is no fine, the Criminal Code did not guarantee basic services of the financial health they required.
Bill C-79, reflecting the recommendations from the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, makes a substantial change to the victim fine surcharge system, first of all by making it mandatory for all offenders. Unless the court is of the opinion that its imposition would cause undue hardship, the surcharge ought to be paid by all offenders, regardless.
As for the amounts, these would in future be 15% of any fine imposed on the offender for the offence, or if no fine is imposed, $50 in the case of an offence punishable by summary conviction, and $100 in the case of an offence punishable by indictment. As well, the court may order an offender to pay a higher amount if it is satisfied that the offender is able to do so.
It may prove necessary to review the provisions on victim surcharge. The provinces, responsible for managing all direct services for victims of criminal offences, count on this significant contribution the offenders must provide.
The victims of criminal offences deserve attention commensurate to the tragedy they have undergone. Policies on criminal justice can be fair only insofar as they take the victim's interests into account.
So, Bill C-79 is welcome. The measures it contains will gradually rebalance the interests at stake in the criminal justice system. The victims and their families will now be able to count on protection and greater involvement in the criminal proceedings they are thrust into, much against their will.
It is from this perspective, that the Bloc Quebecois welcomes Bill C-79 from the Minister of Justice.
Nevertheless, I would like to conclude by recalling that the role of the federal government with respect to the victims of criminal acts must be limited to jurisdictions relating to criminal procedings and law. The minister cannot, under any pretext, succumb to the temptation to cross into provincial jurisdiction in connection with providing help to victims of criminal acts.
In introducing Bill C-79, on April 15, the minister announced the establishment of a victim strategy centre. In a press release, she stated that the new centre would manage, co-ordinate and increase federal initiatives to victims. Despite the minister's good intentions, we feel that crime victims would be better served if the federal government stopped duplicating existing provincial services.
In fact, the Bloc Quebecois is not only convinced that respect for the distribution of powers serves the interests of crime victims, but it fears that the minister's announcement will lead to additional administrative costs that could be avoided if the tools now available were better used.
The Bloc Quebecois will therefore ensure that the mandate of the Victims' Policy Centre is defined in terms of federal jurisdiction, so that the provinces' constitutional authority with respect to victim assistance is respected.
I would remind the Minister of Justice that, in response to the dissenting report I tabled during consideration of this topic, she said that she would do everything she could, that she agreed with me that this centre should fully respect provincial jurisdictions, and that she would intervene in an area of provincial jurisdiction only with the agreement of the provinces. I am confident that, in such a case, the minister will act in accordance with her response to my dissenting report.