Public Safety committee  I think flexibility in the system is really important.

Public Safety committee  I can tell you that this issue was a priority for us almost immediately: making sure that law enforcement had access to the information they needed to not just find the offenders but to sometimes actually find children, find victims, in those homes and stop abuse. I remember in

Public Safety committee  Yes; the money is in the 2010-11 main estimates.

Public Safety committee  It may be. I haven't looked at other departments, but I know there is $6.6 million in the new budget over two years. It might be taking money out of one area and then putting money back in, but I haven't reviewed the other budgets.

Public Safety committee  Yes, and we're referring to the Department of Justice budget.

Public Safety committee  That's according to the main estimates.

Public Safety committee  I am familiar with the bill. I think those are the kinds of initiatives that address some of the stuff we hear every day. We talk of the families whose kids were murdered who just can't go back to work; they can't get past what happened. So some of them lose their jobs, and whe

Public Safety committee  I think it depends on what the specifics of the commitment the government made were. My understanding is that right now, anyone can go, and if they have a medical certificate, they can get up to 15 weeks of leave. My understanding of the government's proposal is that for families

Public Safety committee  You know, we have an average of 600 murders in Canada every year. It doesn't help victims of sexual assault. It doesn't help parents whose kids were abused. There's a whole range of victims who are left out. Again, I hate to criticize a positive step forward, but it's a relative

Public Safety committee  I haven't seen those numbers, so I can't really speak to the main estimates.

Public Safety committee  Those numbers were brought to our attention as well. They're in the 2010-11 main estimates for the Department of Justice. I used to work in the non-government world of victim advocacy. At that time the centre was funded by the Canadian Police Association, which I understand is

Public Safety committee  I think we've asked the government to balance it out a little better. Taking the Prime Minister's point, the more we spend on how we treat offenders means we can't spend it on how we treat victims. I think everybody has to be really careful. Yes, sentencing is important to fami

Public Safety committee  Thank you for your kind comments. I won't make any allusions. I asked the minister in December for consideration for reappointment. It has been an absolute honour to serve Canadians in this way, and it's an amazing opportunity to further the work that many of us have done over

Public Safety committee  I've had no indication that the government intends to close the office. In fact, my understanding is that the government plans to continue the office--

Public Safety committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee to brief you on our most recent special report and to discuss, more generally, important issues impacting victims of crime in Canada. The Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime was crea