Thank you for your intervention, Mr. Speaker. It is important that we show respect to all members of this place, particularly given the nature of the bill before us, Bill C-32, the victims bill of rights act.
As I have mentioned, we fully support this bill, but we have raised a number of issues. The bill could be strengthened with some straightforward amendments. I note that a good number of the inadequacies that we have pointed out mirror those raised by the ombudsman, and I will reiterate those shortly.
I am pleased to say that in the courts in my province, and most likely courts across Canada, victims of crime and families of victims have been allowed in many instances to present victim statements both for sentencing purposes and during parole proceedings. It is very important that those most impacted by crime have an opportunity to be heard.
We fully support the principles of this legislation. These promised provisions have been a long time coming. It is good that the government has finally come forward with the bill. It is regrettable, however, that the government failed to include resources in the budget to enable people to participate constructively in these processes. That is one of the inadequacies clearly identified by the victims and the families of the victims and the ombudsman herself.
We support sending the bill to committee. We look forward to recommendations from many quarters as to how the bill could be strengthened to protect the rights of victims while participating in the criminal process.
The media covers bad cases in every jurisdiction. There is great sympathy for the families of victims of serious crimes. In my city there was the case of Dougald Miller, who was attacked and seriously injured and has been bedridden ever since. He is being tended to by his wonderful wife Lesley Miller, who has attended every court session and every parole hearing. Our heart goes out to her. At committee we hope that one of the recommendations will be for more resources to be provided to the families who are left to deal with the impacts of crime.
As I have mentioned, one of the most cogent presentations on this bill was made by the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. I would like to reiterate to the House what the ombudsman's comments have been on this bill.
She, as we have, commended the government for introducing the first ever victims bill of rights and for the consultative process that took place, but there continues to be debate about the bill's contents and some of its inadequacies. She said that Bill C-32 marks a significant cultural shift. She recommended that it be strengthened by adding additional provisions. I would like to outline some of those provisions to the House.
The federal ombudsman previously made 30 recommendations to the government to be included in the bill. Her commentary speaks to where she feels the government has and has not addressed those recommendations.
It is important for us to keep in mind that the ombudsman prepared her recommendations after direct consultation with many victims of crime. They are solidly based recommendations premised on the actual experiences and needs of the victims and their families.
The ombudsman also stated that she supports expanding the definition of “victim” to include those who experience property damage, but she is concerned that it excludes certain categories of persons who might be harmed. She suggested that could be revisited.
The ombudsman supports, as do we, victims of crime being recognized, but there is no way for them to exercise that right. While it is called a right, there is no recourse to exercize that right. Normally when rights are enacted, there is some kind of mechanism whereby those rights can be enforced, such as in the courts, at a tribunal, or some kind of formal complaint process where there is redress. Unfortunately, the bill does not provide that. A number of people have raised that issue. I think that will be discussed in committee. We are hopeful, as is the ombudsman, that those inadequacies will be addressed.
It also allows the victim, on request, to have access to the defender's bail or probation order. Suggestions have been made that this should not have to be a request, because many victims or their families may not be aware of these rights and opportunities, and that this information should simply be automatically provided.
Here is one issue that has been raised by one of my colleagues, our critic for public safety. Interestingly, simultaneous to the tabling of this bill, there was another bill tabled that dealt with victims' rights. It was victims' rights before the Parole Board, I understand. These two bills will come forward to two different committees simultaneously. One will go to the justice committee and one to the public safety committee. However, they do not seem to be particularly consistent. Therefore, it is recommended that this be considered during the review of Bill C-32.
One of the recommendations has been that in many cases with these crimes—and certainly I can speak to this because I was one of the founders of the sexual assault centre in Edmonton—victims may not feel comfortable attending proceedings and coming face to face with the accused. Therefore, the recommendation is that, in the review of the bill, perhaps we give consideration to video conferencing so that the victims could, potentially, just observe the proceedings, or they may even be willing to give testimony or statements, but not be physically present.
In addition, the ombudsman has commended the fact that judges will have to take victim safety and security into account at various stages of the criminal process including bail, plea bargaining, sentencing, protecting against production orders, testimonial aids and measures to protect witnesses. Indeed, it is good that victims of crime and their families who are impacted should have potential access to all of these proceedings. However, from my experience, the biggest barrier for impacted persons—whether it is a regulatory offence, or whether or not it is an important decision impacting a community, or whether or not it is an alleged crime—is that they do not have equal access to the resources to participate constructively. This has certainly been the problem in many environmental reviews, many environmental appeals, and is also the same problem with victims coming forward.
Regrettably, there are also few to no resources made available in many cases. For example, there may be a crime that occurs in Fort McMurray, Alberta, but the family of the victim may be based in Newfoundland and Labrador. Obviously, it would be a huge expense for them to appear at a trial or a parole hearing and actually testify. They would have to pay the travel expenses. They may have to take time off work. They may have to get child care. There are two potential solutions here. One is to provide the funding so that they can genuinely intervene, or secondly, use video conferencing.
Therefore, I look forward to all parties taking a close look at this bill in committee. It is one thing to suggest that it is good that victims should be able to participate. It is another thing to actualize that right. That right is only actualized when they can constructively and realistically participate.
I look forward to questions from members on the bill. Again, I commend the government for coming forward, but we look forward to the government actually being open to amendments, and open to amendments coming from all quarters. I know that all parties look forward to witnesses coming forward and testifying.
