An Act to amend the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and to establish a framework for implementing the rights of victims of crime

Bill S-236 makes several changes to the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. Currently, victims must request certain information about investigations, court proceedings, and the offender or accused; this bill removes that requirement, so victims will automatically receive this information without having to ask. It also adds a new right to access legal, social, medical and psychological support services suited to their needs, and expands the existing right around restitution into a broader right to "reparations," which includes access to restorative justice programs as well as court consideration of restitution orders. Victims who receive a restitution order also gain a new right to get help enforcing it. The bill strengthens protections by stating the law cannot be interpreted in a way that undermines victims' access to justice or procedural fairness, and it clarifies that complaints about a federal department or agency go specifically to the authority designated by the Governor in Council, rather than any authority with jurisdiction.

The bill also requires the Minister of Justice to create mandatory training, within 180 days of the law taking effect, for anyone working in the criminal justice system who helps implement victims' rights. Federal criminal justice employees must take this training within three months of starting their job and renew it every three years, and the training must also be made available to provincial justice employees. Existing federal employees get up to a year to complete initial training.

Finally, the bill creates a broader "Victims Rights Implementation Framework" that the Minister of Justice must develop, in consultation with the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime, provincial governments, and victims' groups. This framework must address things like measuring access to victim services, remedies when rights aren't upheld, minimum service standards, a public awareness campaign, stronger victim participation in sentencing and parole decisions, and options for strengthening the independence of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime, including possibly enshrining that office in law. The Minister must report the framework to Parliament within a year of the bill becoming law, publish it online, and report again within five years on how well it is working.

This bill amends the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights to change some victim rights from "on request" to automatic, adds new rights (support services, reparations, restitution enforcement assistance), requires the Minister of Justice to designate a complaints authority, and directs the Minister to develop mandatory training and a victims-rights implementation framework.

• Automatic information rights — sections 6, 7, and 8 change from requiring victims to request information about the investigation, proceedings, and the offender/accused, to providing that information without request.
• New substantive rights — victims gain a right to legal, social, medical and psychological support services suited to their needs (section 13.1), a right to reparations including access to restorative justice programs and court consideration of restitution (section 16), and a right to assistance enforcing a restitution order once made (section 17.1).
• Complaint authority designation — under amended subsection 25(2), the Governor in Council (Cabinet) designates the authority that reviews unresolved complaints against a federal department, agency or body, replacing the prior wording that allowed complaints to any authority with jurisdiction.
• Mandatory training program — the Minister of Justice must develop rights-related training within 180 days of the section coming into force, review it at least every three years, and consult provincial representatives and victims' groups; federal criminal-justice employers must ensure staff receive it within three months of hiring and every three years after, with the Minister only required to make training "available" (not mandatory) to provincial-level employees.
• Implementation framework — the Minister must create a framework covering assessment mechanisms, remedies, minimum service standards, a national awareness campaign, victim participation mechanisms in sentencing and parole, and measures to strengthen the independence of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime, including enshrining that office in legislation; the framework may also identify further legislative amendments the Minister considers necessary.
• Reporting and review — the Minister must table a report on the framework in Parliament within one year of royal assent, publish it online within 10 days, and table a further effectiveness report within five years; no penalty or enforcement mechanism is specified for failure to meet these deadlines, and no sunset clause is included.