Winnipeg, Manitoba
24 April 2015
Obviously I want to thank everybody for joining us today and just before I kind of introduce the roundtable participants that I have with me today, I just want to say a word about the death of a colleague yesterday.
Laureen and I are…and I know all of my colleagues here are very saddened by the death of the Speaker of the Senate yesterday, Pierre Claude Nolin.
He served in the Senate with great devotion for 21 years.
He had several causes during that period.
He was very devoted to human rights, to the place of Quebecers in a united Canada, and also the Canadian Armed Forces – he was a great defender and had a great interest in the Canadian military.
He worked very hard.
He was very devoted, and was particularly so during these last few years while he was fighting cancer, and we all admired him for that.
Just doggedly pursuing his duties.
Laureen and I and I know all of our colleagues want to express all of our condolences to his wife Camille, and to all of his family.
I’m joined here today by colleagues.
Minister Glover, also Joy Smith, as part of our 10th annual Victims of Crime Awareness Week.
That’s something our Government instituted and something both of these members have been big champions of.
Also Lianna McDonald of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection which provides a number of great programs: NeedHelpNow, Cybertip.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is celebrating its 30th anniversary later this evening.
And not just Lianna but Sheldon Kennedy and all of these illustrious child advocates are joining us here, not just for the event today but later this evening.
We’re glad everyone can attend.
Two things we’ve been doing on criminal justice as a government.
One, obviously, enact tough laws to deter crime, to protect Canadians, and to change the system to treat victims with greater compassion and respect, particularly with the Victims Bill of Rights which just received Royal Assent to really make victims the heart of the criminal justice system.
So we’ve enacted tough laws trying to bring victims into the centre of the system, and to help victims, and in particular to help child victims of crime.
And to do that, we have been funding some 20 child advocacy centres across the country.
Look, I think we all wish such institutions were not necessary, but the sad reality is that they are.
They help coordinate the investigation and prosecution and treatment of child abuse while obviously helping child victims.
And obviously when a child is a victim there are particular skills that are required to really manage both their participation in the criminal justice system, as well as their healing.
And the entire purpose, obviously, of these organizations is to help these child victims and for that we thank them for the great work that they do.
So, particularly what I’m here to do today is actually some good news on this front and that is, I am pleased to announce that our Government is making, through the budget, a significant additional, supplementary investment in child advocacy centres all across this country.
So we’re…this is great work that’s being done.
We want to see it not only continue, but we want to see it expanded.
We want to see those efforts redoubled to do even more to keep our children safe.
So, that’s the announcement today.
It’s really also intended as an acknowledgement for the great work Lianna, Sheldon, and all of you do in, as I say, what is a sad but necessary and good work that you do to serve our communities and serve these children.
So, thank you very much, and thank you all for being here.
