Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In support of northern victims of crime, I am pleased to announce the NWT Department of Justice implementation of the Victim Notification Program.
The NWT Victim Notification Program is designed to give victims of crime information about the convicted offenders who have harmed them. Many of the provinces, as well as the federal corrections service, offer programs like this. Victim notification programs are designed to give victims the information they need to plan for their safety and assist with the healing process. Information that is provided to the victim includes things like:
where the offender is being held in jail;
when the offender is being allowed to leave jail for a short time, such as for a funeral;
when the offender will be permanently released from jail; and
where the offender plans to go once the sentence comes to an end.
Victim notification programs are important for the protection and well-being of Northerners who are victims of crimes by helping them feel safe. The NWT Victim Notification Program is for victims of adult offenders who are sentenced to less than two years of jail time in an NWT correctional facility. The program complements the Corrections Service of Canada Victim Notification Program, which is for victims of adult offenders who are sentenced to federal time.
The NWT program allows information to be given to victims who apply and meet eligibility requirements. Applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, but generally an applicant for this program should be a victim of a crime, and the offender who committed the crime should be serving their sentence in an NWT corrections facility. There is also consideration given to the privacy of an offender when reviewing applications for a program.
Mr. Speaker, since the program was initiated in May 2010, the Department of Justice corrections division has received three applications for information under this program. I am sure that as we provide more information about the program, more victims will take advantage of it. This program fits in the 16th Legislative Assembly’s priorities to create safe communities.
Information and application for the NWT Victim Notification Program can be found on the Department of Justice website under the corrections division. Those individuals who are interested in this program can also contact community victim services representatives for assistance in making applications or information on the program. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.
