Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime - Alcatrez

Briefs

The Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime works diligently to improve the treatment that victims of crime receive from the criminal justice system. The Centre is frequently asked to present the victim's perspective to government, at all levels. Many submissions have been made over the years.

2009

  • May 7 - CRCVC, Ontario's Missing Adults and Victims of Violence appear before the Senate Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on the Statutory Review of the DNA Identification Act.

2008

2007

  • November 13, 2007 - The CRCVC presented the Honourable Roy McMurtry our recommendations about how to improve compensation for victims of violent crime in Ontario, focussing on:

    • simplify the application process;
    • provide sensitive support to applicants;
    • shorten waiting times between the application and adjudication of files; and
    • provide prompt, generous awards to those victims deemed eligible.

    We believe the average awards in Ontario are simply not high enough. We also believe that families of homicide victims are treated unfairly. The violent, unexpected murder of a close relative, particularly the murder of a child, should provide for an automatic pain and suffering award by the Board because the severe psychological trauma is implicit. We hope that the discretion given to the Board to assess each individual case that comes before them will not be eliminated. McMurtry's report and recommendations are expected in May of 2008.

  • October 10, 2007 -- The CRCVC was pleased to participate in the Customer Name and Address (CNA) Consultations held by Public Safety Canada. However, after making our presentation, we were appauled and disgusted to hear the continued problems facing Canadian law enforcement when attempting to access basic CNA information (non-sensitive biographical information about a subscriber) from Canadian Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Police need basic CNA information in the pre-warrant stage of investigations into child sexual exploitation on the Internet. In the early stages of an investigation, the ISP is the only possible source to identify the computer. If reasonable and probable grounds exist, police then have to seek a warrant to further investigate who is resposible for using the computer on the day and time in question and gather evidence.

    The officer described being denied this information two thirds of the time, meaning only 33% of requests are complied with each month in Canada. ISPs in Canada are not legally required to cooperate with law enforcement (even when it is clearly stated that there are children at risk), retain IP address data (by destroying data, ISPs are deleting evidence where police could possibly rescue a child) or even report suspected criminal acts to police. Restaurant owners in Canada are more highly regulated!

    The victims of child sexual exploitation on the Internet are getting younger and younger. A significant portion are 3 years old or younger now. These children cannot ask for help. Canadian ISPs must take some responsibility for the environment they create and profit financially from. They must be legally compelled to provide CNA information to police, as is done in other countries around the world in order to protect and rescue children from abuse.

  • 5 October 2007 -- The CRCVC participated in the consultation process to establish a single service delivery network for victims of abuse, which would replace the current ad hoc New Identities for Victims of Abuse (NIVA) process. We made several recommendations and look forward to the implementation of the new program. If you would like to receive a copy of the consultation paper we submitted, please email the office.
  • June - Brief to the Correctional Service of Canada Review Panel
  • February - Brief to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy & Ethics Re: PIPEDA Review
  • January – As an Intervenor in the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182, the CRCVC presented this brief to the Honourable John C. Major, Q.C., in order to offer the Commissioner some insight into the unique challenges of meeting the needs of victims in terrorism cases.

2006

2005

2003

The Centre has a number of briefs on file from past years on topics such as DNA databanks, mental disorder provisions of the Criminal Code, young offenders, information and privacy laws, sex offenders, dangerous offenders, and victims' rights. Please contact the office if you would like to obtain any of these archived briefs.