Canadians are being told that they will not be permitted to attend the parole hearings of those convicted of crimes against their loved ones.
Rather than delay these hearings, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Liberal MP Bill Blair, opted instead to do away the victim’s right to attend altogether.
While there is little doubt that in this time of crisis certain measures must be taken, the precedent to abandon the legislated rights of victims in order to prioritize those of convicted criminals is shocking – even for Canada.
But the imposition isn’t just one for those who qualify as victims of a crime…
While Canadian are being told that the outcome of this crisis depends on their compliance with the direction to isolate, those proven to be incapable of following social rule are being signaled just the opposite and set free from isolation.
Not even this pandemic is greater than the rights of a convicted offender in Canada.
Bill Blair made it perfectly clear: this crisis will not interrupt the Parole Board of Canada’s pre-virus scheduling.
While victims of crime have come to expect to be treated as observers rather than integral participants to the processes of justice by our current government, this time, it is every Canadian who is being asked to compromise while criminals are told they don’t have to.
COVID-19 Decision Devastates Victims of Crime
Lisa Freeman was set to attend the parole hearing for the man who brutally murdered her father. Her preparation for it has been years in the making. For it to all come down to this has been nothing short of devastating. I know her well and can tell you that first hand.
Freeman is making an urgent plea to the federal government to reconsider their decision immediately.
She has set up a web page where people can email the Public Safety Minister responsible, asking him to delay these hearings rather than simply ban victims from attending.
Her story was touched upon by the Toronto Sun, but when Freeman reached out to the CBC they declined it, telling her that they don’t have a reporter to cover it.
In her communications with Heidi Illingworth, the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, she was told that their office is aware of the problem and they are trying to have it addressed.
“If there was ever any doubt that victims of crime come second to offenders this should remove it,” says Freeman.
As the date of the hearing draws near, Lisa continues to work on the front lines of the pandemic in Oshawa as a nurse in a long term care facility.
The Toronto Sun also reported on a case in Hamilton where a victim’s family was barred from child rapist’s parole hearing.
“I’m furious,” said the girl’s aunt, who cannot be named because it may identify the victim. “I wasn’t even given an opportunity to give my victim impact statement.”
The article goes on to state that the aunt understands COVID-19 is serious business but wonders why the system bent over backwards for a child molester and not the victim of a heinous crime.
Returning to Parliament
While there is little doubt the decision to ban victims from these hearings will trigger an avalanche of cases like these and will do irreparable damage, what are the chances that it will appear on the radar of the government that is steering this ship?
MP’s are preparing to return to the House of Commons this week with the objective of passing emergency legislation to support Canadians and the economy. Based on the history of this government and the overall lack of attention to this time sensitive issue by Canadian institutional media like CBC, it doesn’t appear likely that victims will be included in that support.
These are the same people that only a few weeks ago insisted that racism posed a greater threat than the virus. How many lives will it have cost to have hung on to that course for so long?
Now, the same talking heads are telling us that failing to self isolate will put our civil liberties in ‘jeopardy’ while simultaneously prioritizing the restoration of the civil liberties of rapists and murders.
We are being instructed to isolate while they are freed from their isolation.
Let that sink in.
At this time of crisis it is more important than ever that the public be able to trust the decisions of their governing bodies and the media who carry their message.
Decisions like these left uncorrected will serve to rapidly erode that trust on both fronts. The damage that results will not just be to victims of crime, it will be felt by every innocent Canadian.
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The push by institutional media to release prisoners is growing. Without a doubt, the force of this push will only further suppress the stories and perspectives outlined here.
We don’t have the press. All we have is the weight of our collective effort to voice our reasonable concern.
I implore you to follow Lisa’s lead and email MP Blair and your own local federal representative to insist they immediately correct this course of action.
Thank you.
Emailed both.