May 9, 2002 — Le Protecteur du citoyen

Crime victims compensation plan: the Québec Ombudsman calls for justice and equality to guide a complete overhaul

Quebec City, May 9, 2002 – Québec Ombudsman Pauline Champoux-Lesage commented publicly today on the Crime Victims Compensation Act with the release of her report Le contrecoup du crime à assumer par l'État.

While there must be an ongoing effort to reduce crime in society, it is unrealistic to suggest that crime will ever be completely eliminated. It is important that every effort be made to successfully reintegrate offenders into the community, but it is equally important that their victims receive support. Society must provide victims of crime and their families the assistance they need to return to normal life.

Québec Ombudsman Champoux-Lesage has noted that crime victims are not treated in the same way as other categories of victims. She calls for this situation to be quickly remedied in the spirit of equality.

The Crime Victims Compensation Act, passed in 1971, was based on the 1931 law for compensating victims of accidents in the workplace. The Workmen's Compensation Act was overhauled in 1985, but the changes did not affect compensation of crime victims. The legislature passed a new law in 1993, but this law was never enacted. And so, in 2002, victims of crime are compensated according to the same principles originally set out in 1931 for accidents in the workplace.

Québec Ombudsman Champoux-Lesage believes that, in order to encourage social equality, victim compensation programs should all provide similar support regardless of the source of funding or the type of incident that caused the physical or psychological injury. There is no justification for compensating an injury differently depending on whether it was sustained due to a crime or another type of incident, such as a traffic accident.

The Ombudsman wishes to draw attention to the main problems surrounding victim compensation. In order to provide fair treatment, she recommends that the crime victims assistance plan be reworked in the same spirit of justice and equality that guided reforms to the programs compensating victims of traffic and workplace accidents.

Québec Ombudsman Champoux-Lesage has recommended the following revisions to the Crime Victims Compensation Act, which would bring it in line with the program covering victims of traffic accidents:

Distinct compensation for bodily injury and loss of income
Compensation for physical injury in the form of a lump sum payment, irrespective of the victim's income prior to injury
Compensation for victims of crime who are unemployed at the time of the incident according to the same principles governing the treatment of unemployed traffic accident victims
Compensation for young victims of crime according to the same criteria and amounts set out in the Automobile Insurance Act
Updated bereavement allowances and funeral expenses, similar to the amounts established in the Automobile Insurance Act
A broader definition of "victim" that includes the victim's family
Revisions to the list of infractions set out in the Appendix of the Crime Victims Compensation Act , in order to reflect the current face of crime
Provisions for victims who are unsatisfied with an appeal to take their case to the Québec Administrative Tribunal

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