Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the member's comments and his involvement in the development of this bill. I have a specific question to help me think through a solution to a problem which arose this week.
Many years ago a young woman in my constituency was abused repeatedly over a period of time. The abuser was arrested, charged, convicted and served time. Subsequently he finished serving his time and was released back into the community in another province. Many years later he applied for a pardon and was pardoned.
Fifteen years later he has re-emerged in the community and has contacted the victim. In attempting to get a restraining order or a peace bond to keep him away, she has found it extremely difficult because of the pardoning process.
Has that situation arisen before? Was there some discussion of that in the preparation of this bill? Will the passage of this legislation give her some avenues to protect herself?