e-3319 (Justice)

Petition to the House of Commons

• Bill C-32, An Act to enact the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and to amend certain Acts, was passed in 2015;
• Bill C-32 created the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights;
• Section 2.1 of Bill C-32 said, “Five years after section 2 comes into force, a committee of Parliament is to be designated or established for the purpose of reviewing the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights…”;
• The Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, in her 2020 Progress Report: The Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, concluded “…the objectives set out in the Act have not been met. The Act falls far short of delivering the real rights it promised.”;
• The Department of Justice, in its 2019 report, Final Report on the Review of Canada’s Criminal Justice System, found that victims often feel re-victimized and acknowledged major changes are needed to support the rights of victims, survivors and their families; and
• The Canadian Victims Bill of Rights must be strengthened to prioritize victims and survivors of crime in the criminal justice system.