2019-2020 Highlights from the National Office for Victims

In 2020, Public Safety Canada’s National Office for Victims (NOV) celebrated its 15th anniversary working to improve victims’ experience with the federal corrections and conditional release system.

The NOV represents the voices of victims and survivors of crime in policy and program development to ensure victims’ safety and security, while respecting their needs with care and compassion.

Collaborative partnerships

The NOV continues to work with the Correctional Service of Canada, the Parole Board of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canada Border Services Agency in support of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (CVBR), coordinating input among our Portfolio partners for departmental initiatives and in support of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Ongoing engagement

• The National Victims Roundtable on the Right to Information in the Federal Corrections and Conditional Release System hosted by the NOV in March 2020 was the fourth in a series of ongoing engagements with the victims’ community since the implementation of the CVBR in July 2015. Victim stakeholders have shared over 200 suggestions through these sessions.
• For example, we heard that victims of federal offenders wanted the right to access audio recordings of Parole Board of Canada hearings whether or not they were able to attend. This feedback helped inform an amendment that was enacted in June 2019 through Bill C-83 allowing victims to be better informed and improving their ability to meaningfully participate in the criminal justice process.

Keeping victims informed

• During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the NOV distributed 18,877 publications to victims, victim service providers and the general public containing information about federal rights for victims of crime, services for victims of federal offenders, safety measures to prepare for offender reintegration and how the federal corrections and conditional release system works.
• The Victims of Crime – Staying Informed booklet is available in 20 languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Cantonese, Mandarin, and seven Indigenous languages.
• The NOV continues to release its National Victims Roundtable summary reports, including reports on victims’ Right to Information and the Right to Protection published over the past year.
• The Public Safety Canada Portfolio Report on Victim Complaint Resolution Mechanisms continues to be released annually to provide an overview of the federal victim complaints process, the types of complaints received from victims under the CVBR, the resolution of the complaints, and any policy changes implemented in response to the complaints.

Date modified:

2020-11-20