Mr. Chair, should victims be granted more rights than they currently have?
House of Commons Hansard #9 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
House of Commons Hansard #9 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
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Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, should victims be granted more rights than they currently have?
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, I am open to having conversations on what that could look like.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, I understand offenders who have been convicted of violent crimes do have rights. They are given access to many services and resources including substance abuse treatment, anger and violence management, sex offender treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy, education and literacy programs, employment skills training, psychiatric care and counselling, addiction treatment, risk and needs assessments, housing and employment assistance, life skills and parenting programs. Of course, all of these are at a cost to Canadian taxpayers.
Can the minister tell me whether these services and resources are provided to victims of violent crime as well?
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, the issues identified by my friend opposite relate to those who are incarcerated. It is essential that those who are incarcerated be reformed and have the skills they need to cope in society if and when they are released.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, what about victims? Do they have any sort of need when they are in society after being victims of violent crimes?
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, it is essential that we support survivors who are victims of violence and who are impacted by the criminal justice system.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, offender supports are centrally coordinated and funded, while victim supports are quite fragmented.
Do you think that is fair?
The Assistant Deputy Chair Conservative John Nater
Please ask your questions through the Chair.
The hon. minister.
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, a lot of this is undertaken by the provinces. If we look at the work of CSC, it is done—
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, clearly the minister will not take responsibility.
Earlier I listed a number of services and resources that offenders receive. Can the minister name just one that victims receive?
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, unfortunately, I did not write them down, so I cannot recall exactly what those were.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, I am happy to read a few of them: cognitive behavioural therapy, education and literacy programs, psychiatric care and counselling, addiction treatment, risk and needs assessments, employment assistance, parenting programs and all sorts of things like that.
Is there one thing in that list that victims have access to?
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, it ought to be quite different for victims. I know there are mental health supports, supports with counsel and supports that are embedded when someone goes through trial. They are unique to survivors and victims and are quite separate from someone who is incarcerated.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Earlier I listed them all and clearly you cannot name one. Is that correct?
The Assistant Deputy Chair Conservative John Nater
Please ask your questions through the Chair.
The hon. minister.
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, I have contextualized that answer.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, clearly we do not have any answers to that.
Is the minister aware of any time in the past, let us say, five years that a victim was denied their right to attend a parole hearing?
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, I am familiar with instances, yes.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, in these instances, we know that even a pandemic could not revoke an offender's rights or alter the date book in any way.
Why were victims not afforded that same right?
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, that is a matter that should be dealt with by the parole board.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, has the member ever seen a letter from the parole board to a victim of a crime?
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, I have not in the last three weeks in this portfolio.
Rhonda Kirkland Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Chair, in one of these letters to a victim of crime, whose father was bludgeoned to death by an axe murderer in Oshawa when I was a teenager, she was told that the parole board would make a decision and—
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Chair, I am sorry to hear that she is impacted by this.