Glossary

A person is considered a victim of crime if:

• they have suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage or economic loss as a results of an offence for which the offender was convicted;
• they are a spouse, conjugal partner, relative of, or person responsible for a victim who has died or is not able to act for themselves (e.g. the victim is ill or a child);
• they have custody for, or are responsible for, dependants of a victim who is deceased or is unable to act for themselves;
• the person who harmed them has not been prosecuted or convicted, but they have made a complaint to the police or Crown Attorney.

A victim impact statement is a statement you can make in court before sentencing takes place, describing how the crime has impacted you. The judge considers your statement at the time of sentencing.

Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) employees who have authority to disclose information about offenders to registered victims, in accordance with section 26 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA). They also provide information about the criminal justice system and CSC as a whole.

A victim statement is a short text describing how the crime continues to affect you. It can contain any concerns you have for your safety, that of your family or your community.

Victim statements include information about the physical harm (ongoing medical needs, disabilities), financial harm (ongoing costs) and ongoing emotional harm suffered. They can refer to the ongoing effects on family or personal relationships, and to the risk the offender could pose to you, your family and community safety if released. You can describe the effect of the crime on your daily life.

Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) considers your victim statement throughout the course of the offender’s sentence in:

• decisions related to the offender’s security level;
• decisions about whether the offender should be released on a temporary absence or a work release;
• evaluations of the offender's programming needs and overall risk of re-offending;
• recommendations to the PBC about whether the offender should be granted conditional release and what special conditions, if any, should be placed on the offender.

Your information may also assist Board members in deciding if special conditions are necessary to further manage the risk that the offender may present.

Victim statements should be written to the attention of Correctional Service Canada (CSC) and/or the Parole Board of Canada (PBC). They should not include personal information that could compromise your safety, the safety of your family or other people, such as current names (if changed), addresses or photographs, or any information you do not want shared with the offender. The statements should not contain threats or profanity.

The Victims Bill of Rights Act creates the Canadian Victim Bill of Rights (CVBR) and amends other existing laws, including the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA).