Supporting Victims of Crime

As part of National Victims of Crime Awareness Week (NVCAW), the Harper Government today announced increased funding to the Victim’s Fund by $7 million over five years, $5 million of which will be directed to the creation and enhancement of Child Advocacy Centres across Canada.

More than 7.4 million Canadians were victims of crime in 2009 alone.

Our Government is committed to helping victims of crime move forward by providing them with the support and tools that they need.

Today the Harper Government announced increased funding to the Victim’s Fund by $7 million over five years, $5 million of which will be directed to the creation and enhancement of Child Advocacy Centres across Canada.

NVCAW builds on our Government’s strong track record of taking real action for victims of crime. For example;

In 2007, the Harper Government announced the Federal Victims Strategy and committed $52 million over four years to respond to the needs of victims of crime.

Our Government announced renewed funding in 2011 in the amount of $26 million over two years for the Federal Victims Strategy.

We introduced Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, and as promised, passed this important legislation within the first 100 sitting days of the Parliamentary Session.

On April 20, the Prime Minister announced a new income support benefit to parents of children deceased or missing due to a suspected Criminal Code offence. The income support benefit will ease the financial pressure on parents struggling to cope with the death or disappearance of a child, and;

Today’s announcement of increased funding to the Victim’s Fund by $7 million over five years, $5 million of which will be directed to the creation and enhancement of Child Advocacy Centres across Canada.

To prevent further victimization, dangerous and violent criminals need to be targeted and taken off the streets of Canada’s communities. Our Government has worked toward this feat, while also increasing support for victims of crime.

Our Safe Streets and Communities Act was a promise to Canadians that we’ve delivered on. These new laws will increase penalties for sexual offences against children, impose tougher sentences for the production and trafficking of illicit drugs, and better protect Canadians from violent and repeat young offenders. Our Conservative Government can be counted on to put the safety of Canadians and their families first.

Our Government has listened to victims of crime and has responded by passing legislation that focuses on addressing the concerns of victims.

Along with increasing offender accountability, the Safe Streets and Communities Act guarantees victims can participate in parole hearings and allows victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators and supporters of terrorism.

Our Government is taking action through this legislation to ensure the voices of victims are heard and that further victimization is prevented. Our Government is committed to closing the revolving door to Canada’s justice system. Since 2006, we have not built a single new prison and we have no plans to build a new prison.

This Act protects Canadians by ensuring that the most serious, violent offenders are kept off our streets for a longer period of time.

The Safe Streets and Communities Act contains a number of measures to address concerns raised by victims of crime, including:

the Increasing Offender Accountability Act (former Bill C-39), which will enshrine a victim’s right to participate in parole hearings and address inmate accountability, responsibility, and management under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act;

the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and related amendments to the State Immunity Act (former Bill S-7), which will allow victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators and supporters of terrorism in a Canadian court, including foreign states listed by the Government;

the Protecting Children from Sexual Predators Act (former Bill C-54), which will increase penalties for sexual offences against children, as well as create two new offences aimed at conduct that could facilitate or enable the commission of a sexual offence against a child;

Sébastien’s Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders) (former Bill C-4), which will better protect Canadians from violent and repeat young offenders and make the protection of society a paramount consideration in the management of young offenders by the justice system;

the Eliminating Pardons for Serious Crimes Act (former Bill C-23B), which will extend the ineligibility periods for applications for a record suspension (currently called a “pardon”) to five years for summary conviction offences and to ten years for indictable offences; and

the Ending House Arrest for Property and Other Serious Crimes by Serious and Violent Offenders Act (former Bill C-16), which will eliminate the use of conditional sentences, or house arrest, for serious and violent crimes.

We will continue to fight crime and protect Canadians so that our communities are safe places for people to live, raise their families and do business.