Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. On May 9, Canada’s Minister of Justice said, and I quote:

Ensuring that victims have access to the resources and information they need and know their rights is critical to victims having a more effective voice in the criminal justice system.

The thing is, victims have been waiting nine months for the government to appoint a new ombudsman for victims of crime to protect their rights. This government has made no improvements to the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights in the past seven years, and we have been waiting for a thorough legislative review of the bill for two years now.

In 2016, Bill C-28 abolished the victim surcharge, which paid for services for victims of crime. In 2017, the government voted against making the ombudsman position permanent. In 2020, the Parole Board of Canada took a full year to set up a video conferencing system so victims could attend parole hearings.

Senator Gold, this is Victims and Survivors of Crime Week. As such, would you tell us what positive action this government has taken since 2015 for victims and for victims’ rights?

Senator Boisvenu: Thank you, Senator Gold, for that non-answer.

Senator Gold, your government is far more active when it comes to improving the lives of criminals, and this is abundantly clear when you look at Bill C-75 passed in 2019, and now with Bill C-5. This bill ensures that serious crimes such as sexual assault, kidnapping and human trafficking will no longer be subject to prison sentences, but rather conditional sentences, which means they can be served in the offender’s living room.

Can you tell us, Senator Gold, what legislation the Liberal government plans to introduce to improve the rights of victims of crime in Canada?