Building on existing federal and provincial laws and policies, the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights enshrines a victim's right to receive, on request, general information about:
- the criminal justice system and the role of victims;
- available victim services and programs, including restorative justice programs; and
- the right to make a complaint if in their opinion their rights have been infringed or denied.
Building on existing federal, provincial and territorial laws and policies, a victim also has access to case-specific information on request, such as:
- the status and outcome of the investigation;
- scheduling, progress and the final outcome of criminal proceedings;
- any review of an offender's conditional release, and the timing and conditions of that release; and
- information about an accused who has been found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder while that person is under the jurisdiction of a court or a review board.
Criminal Code amendments that accompany the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights require the court to ask the prosecutor if reasonable steps were taken to inform the victim of a plea agreement for murder or serious personal injury offences, or on request for an offence where imprisonment of five years or more is possible. Criminal Code amendments also allow a victim to request copies of bail, conditional sentence, and/or probation orders.
The Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) amendments to increase victim access to information about the person who harmed them will:
- permit a registered victim to access information about the status of the offender and the offender's progress against his or her correctional plan;
- permit a registered victim to be informed when a federal offender has been removed from Canada prior to the end of a sentence;
- require disclosure of an offender's release date, destination and conditions to the victim unless the disclosure would have a negative impact on public safety;
- upon request, provide a registered victim with copies of Parole Board of Canada decisions; an,
- require that the Correctional Service of Canada inform a registered victim about victim-offender mediation services.
The Correctional Service of Canada and the Parole Board of Canada will also modernize service delivery to victims by allowing registered victims to access the information available to them under the CCRA through a secure web-portal in the near future.
-30-
July 2015
Department of Justice Canada
