CALGARY, May 23, 2013 – Today, the Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, attended the grand opening of the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre and announced that close to $350,000 in federal funding will be made available to the Centre to help young victims and their families.
“Child abuse in all its forms is an appalling crime that has a lifelong impact on its victims,”
said Minister Nicholson. “Our Government is proud to support the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre, whose mission is to provide hope, help, and healing to those impacted by child abuse, and which will be a valuable tool in addressing the needs of young victims and their families in southern Alberta.”
Through the Department of Justice’s Victims Fund, $349,613 will be available for the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre over two years.
Child Advocacy Centres (CACs) provide a safe, child-friendly environment where a collaborative, coordinated team of professionals works together in a child-focused manner to help a child or youth victim or witness navigate the criminal justice system. The work of a CAC multi-disciplinary team can greatly reduce the emotional and mental harm to the child.
Since 2006, the Government of Canada has put forward a number of measures to better protect children, including:
- Putting in place the Safe Streets and Communities Act, which increased penalties for sexual offences against children and created two new offences aimed at conduct that could facilitate or enable the commission of a sexual offence against a child;
- strengthening the sex offender registry;
- increasing the age of protection from 14 to 16 years old;
- eliminating house arrest for criminals who commit serious and violent offences including for all child sexual offences;
- putting in place legislation to make the reporting of child pornography by Internet Service Providers mandatory; and,
- strengthening the sentencing and monitoring of dangerous offenders.
This funding announcement is in keeping with the Government's Plan for Safe Streets and Communities, one of four priorities identified by the Prime Minister. This plan focuses on holding violent criminals accountable, enhancing the rights of victims, and increasing the efficiency of our justice system.
Backgrounder: Child Advocacy Centres
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