National Victims of Crime Awareness Week 2007 "It's Time to Listen"

Remarks by
The Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety

April 23, 2007
Ottawa, Ontario
As delivered

Thank you, Catherine [Catherine Kane, Director, Policy Centre for Victims Issues] for your opening remarks.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the kick-off to this very important week. We have already heard from some of the representatives of our agencies. There are also many groups here this morning that play a vital role in terms of victims awareness and also in providing resources and assistance to victims. A number of our Member of Parliament colleagues are also in the crowd.

I would most definitely like to acknowledge the presence of those who are victims of crime and who are here to promote the very important resources and services that are needed.

As victims, you have suffered terrible ordeals. But you have chosen to speak up and be heard. I thank you and applaud your courage.

It's not easy for victims to talk about what they've been through. And yet many of the representatives here from victims groups are willing to do that because they know it will help others.

It's not easy to relive some frightful and devastating moments every time you speak about these issues. But you're willing to do that, and I appreciate it very much.

This week talks about the need for us to listen more and to listen better. Through the past years and maybe even past decades, we've listened to other groups who are affected by crime.

It seems, though, that victims of crime themselves have not truly been listened to – so many different groups vying for their rights and vying to be heard.

When crimes take place, it's disturbing to read about the devastation they often create.

For instance, it wasn't long ago I read of a bank manager's wife who was taken from her home, kidnapped and put in the trunk of a car. Demands were made for money, and money was paid. The news story ended by saying the women was released unhurt. Well, there may be no physical scars, but that woman will never be the same again.

A personal friend of mine, who is the owner of a construction company, had the horrific experience of a home invasion. People came to his home thinking that he kept money in a safe there. They came into the house, put a shotgun to his head and asked him where the safe was. There was no safe in the house.

Of course he was terrified at the possibility of losing his own life, but he was also concerned because his family, his wife and his kids, were going to be home at any moment. Years later when someone knocks at the door or there's a ring at the doorbell, he still can't go to the front door and open it. He peers out through the drapes first. He's forever changed by that particular event.

These are examples where no physical or outward physical consequence took place. So that's not even counting the horrific physical nature of many of the crimes that some of you here today have endured. And so we want to acknowledge that and we want to do it with more than just words.

The Government of Canada, last year in its budget, committed millions of dollars to this particular area. I'm happy to report that the Correctional Service of Canada will now have dedicated officers committed to guiding victims of crime and seeing to their needs.

Further, my colleague Rob Nicholson and I announced not too long ago the creation of the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. Minister Nicholson will talk more about that in just a few minutes and will make an important announcement.

Last week, we announced a review of our corrections system. Some of the areas we want to look at are related to concerns of victims. We'll be looking at issues such as the location of parole offices, location of halfway houses and other types of resources in a community. We'll also be looking at how victims need to be consulted, informed and listened to when it comes to those types of decisions.

Ladies and gentlemen, we're often weighed down by the serious nature of what has happened to victims. That's why we are beginning to look more acutely at the rights of victims. On the other hand, we are buoyed by the fact that we are moving in a positive direction, that we are listening to victims and that we are taking action.

Thank you to each of you in the agencies that help victims. And thank you to victims who are here today and to others who are interested in victims' causes and their very real needs.