11 April 2013
Calgary, Alberta
Good morning everyone.
Thank you, first of all, Joan, for that kind introduction.
It’s wonderful to be here and have you as a colleague in the Parliament of Canada.
Greetings to my other colleagues from Parliament as well, to Members of Parliament Michelle Rempel, Devinder Shory, to Rob Anders, to Senator Doug Black as well.
Great to have all of you here today.
Representatives of the Alberta government, Ministers Hancock, Dennis, your Worship, Mayor Nenshi, Bonnie Johnston, CEO of this institution, also my greetings to co-chairs of the CAC board, John Dilward, to Deborah Moral, and to all the partner organizations as well.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is really an honour to be here today at the Calgary Child Advocacy Centre.
I’ve had a chance to look around this morning, and it is a wonderful facility.
I can see that you’re doing great work here, and I want to give my congratulations to everyone.
Although, you know, I do have to confess that I really wish – I think we all wish that it were not necessary to have a centre like this.
Sadly, even here the world is not always a safe place for children.
We may hear about criminal acts every day, but I think still for all of us, every story about a child being abused is still shocking, and it is heartbreaking.
This morning I’ve heard some of those stories, stories that no one, especially a child, should ever have to endure or should ever have to tell.
Unfortunately, far too many Canadian families fall victim to crime, and too many have to deal with the justice system.
A justice system that has been too often far more concerned with the welfare of criminals than the well being of their innocent victims.
So before I get to today’s announcement, let me reiterate the promise our government made when we were first elected, and it is simply this: we will not rest until Canada’s streets and communities are as safe from crime as they possibly can be, and until the Canadian justice system puts the rights of victims where they belong.
And they belong ahead of the rights of criminals.
Friends, child advocacy centres like this one do much to advance this work.
That’s why our Conservative government has already funded 20 child advocacy centre projects in communities across Canada.
Those who heard me say French will say that I said 15.
We’ll stick with the 20.
Several other projects are underway.
Without these centres, an abused child could be obliged to visit multiple locations and see many different professionals before getting the help they need.
This adds unnecessary trauma to an already very stressful situation.
That is to say, by putting a number of agencies under the same roof, this centre will be a one-stop shop for abused children in need.
And so a child need no longer tell their sad story multiple times.
Once will be enough.
This leads to better evidence and better evidence results in better conviction rates.
By adopting a coordinated and collaborative approach to meeting the needs of children and families, this centre will ensure that the victims of crime don’t also feel like victims of the justice system.
Friends, this really is truly, the people who work here are truly doing God’s work.
Please join me in thanking all the professionals here today for the work they do with suffering children.
Now, there is someone else here today to whom I want to express my personal gratitude.
Indeed, he merits the gratitude of the entire nation, and that is Sheldon Kennedy.
Many of you know Sheldon’s story, how he bravely came forward after being sexually abused at the hands of a man he and many others trusted, hockey coach and mentor Graham James.
Sheldon knows firsthand the horrors of such abuse, and he has worked tirelessly to prevent it.
His efforts to establish this centre have been no less determined, and as a result, countless children will benefit.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, today I have the great honour as Prime Minister and as a proud Calgarian.
I’m very pleased to announce officially that from now on, this centre will be known as the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.
This centre will stand as s permanent reminder to Sheldon’s boundless commitment to helping children who have been the victims of abuse.
What a great way to honour such an outstanding Canadian.
Please join me one more time in giving Sheldon a well-deserved thanks for everything he’s done.
Now, sadly, Sheldon’s work, your work, those who work here, our work, is far from over.
Each year in Canada there are more than 200,000 investigations into child abuse and neglect, and sexual offences against children including child pornography are noticeably on the rise.
These are some of the fastest growing categories of crime in this country.
In 2009, last statistics, more than half of all victims of sexual offences in Canada were children under 17.
More than half. And that is just those crimes reported to the police.
We know many are not reported.
Our Government is working hard to change this.
That’s why we’ve introduced mandatory minimum sentences for criminals who commit sexual offences against children.
We have stopped the shameful practice of house arrest for serious and violent crimes.
We have eliminated the faint hope clause, which forced victims to unnecessarily relive terrible events.
And to give victims a stronger voice, we’ve established the federal ombudsman for victims of crime.
Ladies and gentlemen, we must be tough on this sort of crime.
No other position is acceptable.
We know the damage that crime does to Canadian families, to Canadian children.
We have made a promise to Canadians that Canadians expect us to honour, and we are far from finished.
We are committed to taking further steps to tackling crime, by making sure violent criminals are held accountable for their acts.
Later this year, we will introduce comprehensive legislation to further crack down on criminals who commit sexual offences against children.
We will take concrete action to make bail and extradition regimes more effective so that dangerous criminals stay behind bars, and we will also bring forward legislation to implement a victims’ bill of rights.
This will be a crucial act to strengthen and entrench our commitment to victims of crime, by entrenching their rights into a single law at the federal level, and it will change the balance of our justice system, so that victims are no longer an afterthought.
Now, friends, I know that the professionals and volunteers here at the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre will not rest until child abusers are stopped.
And I promise you that our Government will be behind them every step of the way, making our streets and communities safer for Canadians, for all Canadians, young and old.
Thank you.
