Justice committee  I will briefly start by introducing myself for credibility purposes. My name is Hubert Van Gijseghem. I have been a psychologist since 1963. I got my PHD in psychology in 1970. I have had two parallel careers: one as an academic at the University of Montreal and one as a practiti

Justice committee  My response will not be vastly different from that of my colleague Vernon Quinsey. Indeed, I am equally uncomfortable with the idea of having the possession of pornographic material included as a sexual offence. In that regard, it seems to me that there is a big difference betwee

Justice committee  Yes, obviously, sexual offenders are very poorly received. It is a fact. It is a bit of a national sport, maybe an international one. When sexual offenders get to jail, they get beaten. Sometimes, guards turn a blind eye. It is well known. Would the fear of such a thing occurring

Justice committee  Obviously, opinions vary among experts. I personally am regularly asked to give an opinion on an offender, determine who he is and assess his degree of dangerousness and risk of recidivism. I believe an in-depth interview with the individual is necessary. One or two objective per

Justice committee  I have been involved in therapy programs for victims. Again, I would be cautious. I do not believe that most of the programs we currently have on the market should be suggested for or imposed upon children in a standardized or automatic way. Here, as elsewhere, we have to approac

Justice committee  There is a paradox there. Everyone would agree. Well, let's not exaggerate. Rather, let's say that much research indicates that children who are abused within the family are more scarred than those who are abused by strangers. That said, intrafamilial abusers are less likely to r

Justice committee  I also only read the briefing.

Justice committee  Yes, that's what I said.

Justice committee  Personally, no.

Justice committee  The same.

Justice committee  I could not provide a better answer. Your question makes me somewhat uncomfortable in that I do not have a clear answer for you. Perhaps I may digress a bit.

Justice committee  In response to a question that was asked a moment ago, there was reference to the fact that therapy for the abuser could to some extent help him heal his own victimization. On this point, I would like to refer to the results from some studies. I am thinking, for instance, of stu

Justice committee  Exactly. So, I would like to emphasize this point. It is not an opinion. It is based on research from the United States that has been repeated, in fact.

Justice committee  The logical basis for this bill rests on the notion of a sliding scale, in other words, proportionality. I think that for a series of offences or crimes, mandatory minimum sentences can be light, because, it would seem to me that they are rather symbolic in nature and their hars

Justice committee  That is what I said.