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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 221

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 20, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 221 - Sep/20/23
Mr. Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, NDP)
  • Sep/20/23 4:47:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I found the member for Kildonan—St. Paul's speech a little bit curious in that she made no mention of the other part of this bill, which is the part that allows sexual assault victims to have agency over whether there is a publication ban. Many of them feel that publication bans restrict their right to help keep members of their friendship groups and families safe, since 80% of perpetrators in sexual assault cases are family or friends. Does the Conservative Party support those aspects of this bill, which will give that agency back to sexual assault victims?
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Context: House Hansard - 221 - Sep/20/23
Mr. Rhéal Éloi Fortin (Rivière-du-Nord, BQ)
  • Sep/20/23 5:00:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. He hit on an important point. The provisions of the Criminal Code pertaining to sexual assault, particularly against children, must be examined more closely. That being said, I want to again ask him the question that I would have liked to ask the minister and that the minister asked him. The minister asked him if he would support this bill so that the registry does not cease to be on October 29. I would like to ask my colleague what he thinks about that. The minister just told us that the Senate studied this bill for some months. By “some months”, he means two months. The bill was introduced on April 26 and it was passed in the Senate on June 22. Third reading was already complete. Two months is not a lot. On the government side, there were six months between the time when the Supreme Court of Canada delivered its ruling on October 28, 2022 and when the bill was introduced on April 26, 2023. During the six months of winter when we were sitting, not including the two months of summer when we were not, nothing was done. At the end of six months, the Senate acted quickly in just two months. Today, we are being pushed and asked to forget about the rules of Parliament because this is behind schedule and needs to get done. What does my colleague think about that?
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Context: House Hansard - 221 - Sep/20/23
Mr. Randall Garrison
  • Sep/20/23 5:43:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, here is the important message that I think we got from My Voice, My Choice: It is up to the victims to make the decision about whether they wish to have the publication ban. It is not really up to me, the prosecutors or the judges to make that decision for them. Yes, I share concerns about the way victims of crime are still treated in the courts, particularly victims of sexual assault. However, sexual assault is the one area where we take away that agency and say that they are not allowed to talk publicly about what happened to them. That is the message we received quite clearly in the justice committee from My Voice, My Choice. It is to give that agency to the victims, to let them make that decision for themselves.
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