13 April 2011
Jean-Sébastien Marier
Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa

OTTAWA — When Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu’s daughter, Julie, was murdered by a repeat offender in 2002, all he received from the Quebec government was a $600 cheque to help pay for her funeral.

He says the province has since made efforts to recognize victims’ rights and he now hopes the next federal government will take the same approach.

It’s the reason why he is proposing a national charter of fundamental rights for victims of crime. Boisvenu told a symposium on victims’ rights Wednesday that he plans to introduce the document as legislation after the federal election.

The 12-point charter stresses that “victims have a right … to prompt and equitable” reparations for the wrongs that have been caused to them. It also calls for better access for victims to the personal information of criminals.

Boisvenu told the symposium, held at the University of Ottawa, that the federal criminal justice system ensures that serious offenders are treated the same way throughout the country.

“You will receive the same program in jail,” he said. “You will receive the same meal, the same comfort.”

However, he pointed out that because victim services fall under provincial jurisdiction, “Canadians are not treated on the same level” everywhere.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Justice, for example, only offers legal advice to victims.

By comparison, the Ontario Victim Services Secretariat operates a support line, rape crisis centres and counselling programs.

In Quebec, crime victims are eligible for financial compensation from the province.

“So I think there’s some kind of injustice for victims of crime,” Boisvenu said.

Michael Manning, whose 15-year-old daughter was raped and then stabbed to death in their Dorval home 17 years ago, supports Boisvenu’s proposal.

He said individuals convicted of murder have rights, but they should expect to give up some of them, such as the right to privacy.

“What was taken away was my daughter’s first right, her right to life,” Manning said.

Boisvenu, who was named to the Senate by Stephen Harper, often echoes the Tory leader when it comes to being “tough on crime.”

The senator stands by this approach and said his proposed bill aims to balance victims’ rights with those of offenders.

“As a victim, we don’t have any rights,” he said.

Heidi Illingworth, who works with the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, welcomed Boisvenu’s proposal.

But she views stiffer punishment for offenders and victims’ rights as two different issues.

She said governments need to provide more resources for services to victims, such as women shelters and psychological support.

“The sentencing of an offender, incarceration of an offender, that’s just a small issue in the scope of everything (victims) have to go through.”