Mr. Speaker, I dedicate my statement today to the family of murder victim Paul William Cherewick, who was also once my neighbour.
Today the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice launched the fifth annual National Victims of Crime Awareness Week symposium. Our government's commitment to ensuring that victims have a stronger voice in the criminal justice system remains a cornerstone of our justice agenda.
In 2007 our government created the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime to serve as an independent resource for victims in Canada. In that same year our government committed $52 million over four years for a package of programs, services and funding to help the federal government and the provinces and territories respond to a variety of needs of victims of crime.
Budget 2010 provided additional funding of $6.6 million over two years.
We are all encouraged to further explore new ways to reach out to victims of crime and, in the spirit of the theme of this week, to let them know that every victim matters.