CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 140 Ï NUMBER 029 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 38th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Monday, November 22, 2004 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) All parliamentary publications are available on the ``Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire´´ at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 1621 HOUSE OF COMMONS Monday, November 22, 2004 The House met at 11 a.m. The prime objective of this office, which will be completely independent from the Correctional Service of Canada and the Prayers National Parole Board, is to act as a voice and an advocate for the victims of crime. It will conduct investigations, reviews of Correctional Service or Parole Board policies and studies into the problems of victims related to decisions, recommendations, policies, PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS acts or omissions of the service or the board. Ï (1100) [Translation] Moreover, this bill will require the Victims Ombudsman to maintain a program for communicating information to victims CORRECTIONS AND CONDITIONAL RELEASE ACT concerning the function of the Victims Ombudsman and the Mr. Raymond Bonin (Nickel Belt, Lib.) moved that Bill C-243, circumstances under which an investigation, a review of Correctional an act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act Service or Parole Board policies or a study may be commenced by (establishment of the Office of Victims Ombudsman of Canada)be the Victims Ombudsman. Thus, the bill concerns the rights of read the second time and referred to a committee. victims and the way these rights are respected. Ï (1105) The purpose behind establishing the Victims Ombudsman is the SPEAKER'S RULING same as for all other organizations sharing the principles of justice, The Speaker: The Chair has examined Bill C-243, an act to fairness and administrative responsibility for victims, by requiring amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (establishment that the public servants in the Correctional Service and Parole Board of the Office of the Victims Ombudsman of Canada) to determine be accountable to the Victims Ombudsman when one of their whether its provisions would require a royal recommendation and decisions is directly linked to an act that harms an individual. thus prevent the Chair from putting the question at third reading. [English] [English] As its title suggests, this bill would create the position of victims ombudsman of Canada, with remuneration for such officers and I stand in the House today to offer legislation that would give employees as are necessary to perform the functions and duties. It is victims of crimes a voice and an advocate in our correctional system. abundantly clear that this legislative initiative would authorize the The bill is founded on four guiding principles. spending of public funds. In accordance with Standing Order 79(2), such a bill must be accompanied by a royal recommendation. First, the correctional system belongs to Canadians, to our society. [Translation] It is run by officials for the people of Canada. It does not belong to Therefore, in its present form, I will decline to put the question on those officials, no matter what their professional credentials. third reading unless a royal recommendation is received for this bill. (1110) Today, the debate is on the motion for second reading which will Ï continue as scheduled. *** Second, for justice to be done it must be seen to be done. Under the current system, once an accused is convicted, custody is transferred to a correctional system that offers very little information SECOND READING on how sentences are served. Mr. Raymond Bonin (Nickel Belt, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I am proud to speak today in the debate on private member's Bill C-243, Corrections officials would have us believe that this process is which I have proposed and which creates the office of Victims best, that they know best, to trust them, and that they have an Ombudsman of Canada. obligation to protect the privacy of inmates. 1622 COMMONS DEBATES November 22, 2004 Private Members' Business Others see it in another way. It is a convenient way to make unnecessarily prolongs the healing process. That is simply no longer decisions that cannot be justified to the public and certainly a more acceptable. convenient forum in which to hide mistakes. And by way of leaks and reports provided to reporters, we know that there are mistakes. How would this bill help? Simply put, this bill would establish an independent ombudsman for victims within the corrections system. All we have to do is look at the case of Michael Hector, who was This ombudsman would be the bridge between the corrections released from penitentiary and then murdered three people. What of system and victims. He or she would be independent, educate the case of Constable Joe MacDonald, who was executed by two victims, investigate their complaints and ensure that corrections individuals, Suzack and Pennett? A few short years after his officials properly respond to their needs. conviction, Suzack was transferred from maximum to medium security. Joe MacDonald's family and the community were hurt, The ombudsman would also work to ensure that the system offended and outraged, but that did not matter to corrections officials becomes more sensitive and responsive to the needs of victims. This who believed they knew better, so nothing was done. would include reports to Parliament on how the system is doing and what changes are required. Third, Canadians are reasonable, intelligent and wise. They understand fair play. They understand the importance of rehabilita- All in all, the ombudsman would make sure that those victims and tion and can distinguish between a proper and improper way of their families will be able to understand the process, be kept administering a sentence. informed, ensure that a qualified and competent official is available to answer their questions, and make sure that their needs are The air of secrecy surrounding how sentences are served and responded to and their voices are heard. administered only fuels distrust of our corrections system. Open the Ï (1115) doors and windows into the system and it will be found that Canadians will support reasoned approaches to corrections and some Having an advocate for victims in the corrections system is a of that distrust will fade away. In the end, a better system will reasonable and logical measure. There are three sides to every crime: emerge. the offender; society as represented by the state; and the victim who suffers the hurt and loss. In our corrections system, the offender is Finally, and most important, victims want and need a voice and represented by the correctional investigator, who acts like an advocate in the corrections system. When a crime is committed, ombudsman for prisoners, and the state is represented by corrections public policy dictates that it is to be prosecuted and treated as a crime officials, but the victim has no representative. It is time to change against society. That is a fair way to proceed to ensure a fair and just this unacceptable and unfortunate situation. penal system as long as we stop to consider the individual who has actually suffered the loss and hurt. That individual and that It is my hope that this Parliament will see the wisdom in individual's family carry the physical and emotional burden of the establishing an ombudsman for victims. I trust that members of crime. Any fair and just system must take those views into Parliament will reach the consensus that providing victims with a consideration, notably in the administration of a court ordered voice and an advocate will improve our corrections system and that sentence. by providing a mechanism by which victims can have their complaints investigated we will advance the transparency and In my life, I have met victims and their families. Those meetings accountability of the system. are not easy and can be very emotional. However, it has always struck me that their requests are so very simple: explain the process Victims need and want to be heard. I trust that the House is to me; keep me informed; who can I talk to when I have a question; listening. While something has been accomplished for victims over and, how and when are my needs and views taken into account? the years, much remains to be done. With the goodwill and effort of everyone in the House, I know we will get there, but there are For whatever reason, the federal corrections system has failed to specific improvements that I am calling on the government to make. adequately respond to victims on all those matters. How do I know? Victims have had to contact me, their member of Parliament, to get First, we should change the law to make it clearer that victims basic information that should be provided in an automatic fashion. have the right to make a statement at National Parole Board hearings. The board does this in practice now and I applaud it for making this In one case, a unilingual anglophone victim was given a contact change, but the law needs to make it clearer that we can never number in which the voice mail was in unilingual French. Despite backtrack on this. attempts to correct the situation, the victim had to contact my office to get results. That is simply not acceptable and is the result of a Second, we should expand the definition of who is a victim so that system that is insensitive and not responsive to the needs of victims the people taking care of injured victims or young victims can have and their families. It is neither equipped nor eager to serve the the same access to information as any other victim.