Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Senator Gold, on December 7, I asked you a question about the position of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. For five months, victims of crime have had no representation in our federal institutions. Your government has again shown that victims are not a priority by violating their rights, which are guaranteed by the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights.

I would like to quote a passage from an article published on January 17 in the Toronto Star, describing the position of former ombudsman Heidi Illingworth.

[English]

Illingworth told the Toronto Star that it’s a “significant gap” when the position is vacant and expressed hope that it’s “filled sooner rather than later” given what she described as “high levels of private violence and victimization” happening in homes during the pandemic.

Illingworth suggested that the position “has a critical role in highlighting and reviewing systemic issues that negatively affect victims and emerging issues.”

[Translation]

Senator Gold, you promised this chamber that you would come back with a response from the government explaining these delays.

The position of Correctional Investigator, the ombudsman for criminals, has never been vacant longer than 24 hours in the past 10 years. What do you have to say to victims of crime about the fact that the position of Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime went unfilled for a year in 2017 and has been vacant for the past five months?

Senator Boisvenu: I would remind you that in the past six and a half years, the Liberal government has not introduced or proposed a single bill to improve the lives and rights of victims of crime. The article I mentioned earlier also pointed out that the five-year review of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights was scheduled for 2020 but still has not been completed by the government.

When will the government do its job and complete the review of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights?