Victims Portal Help Centre

Yes — Under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), victims of crime have a right to certain information about the offender who harmed them while that person is under the jurisdiction of the Correctional Service of Canada and/or the Parole Board of Canada.

No — Victims must register with the Correctional Service of Canada and/or the Parole Board of Canada to receive information. Once registered, you will be automatically approved to receive certain offender information.

By registering with the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) or the Parole Board of Canada (PBC), you will be provided with the following:

• the offender's name;
• the offence and the court that convicted the offender;
• the date the sentence starts and length of sentence; and
• the offender's eligibility and review dates for temporary absences, day parole and full parole.

In addition, as a registered victim, you may also be provided the following information, upon request, at the discretion of the Commissioner of CSC or the Chairperson of PBC, when your interest in the information clearly outweighs any invasion of the offender's privacy that could result from the release of this information:

• the offender's age;
• the name and location of the penitentiary where the sentence is being served;
• if the offender is transferred, a summary of the reasons for the transfer and the name and location of the penitentiary in which the sentence is being served, including advance notice, whenever possible, of transfers to minimum-security institutions;
• a summary of the programs in which the offender is participating or has participated;
• a summary of any serious disciplinary offences that the offender has been found guilty of;
• the date, if any, on which the offender is to be released on unescorted or escorted temporary absences, work release, parole or statutory release;
• the date of any PBC hearing;
• any conditions attached to the offender's temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release;
• the reasons for and the destination of the offender when released on any temporary absence, work release, parole or statutory release, and whether the offender will be in your vicinity while travelling to that destination; and
• whether the offender is in custody and, if not, why.

If the offender is transferred to a provincial correctional facility, you may receive the name of the province in which that facility is located. You may also request PBC decisions from their Decision Registry. This may include the reasons for decisions related to conditional release, return to prison, detention, and the decisions and reasons of the Appeal Division of PBC. PBC may exempt information in these written decisions that could reveal a confidential source of information, jeopardize a person's safety or hinder an offender's return to society as a law-abiding citizen.

As a registered victim, you decide how you would like to receive information about the offender who harmed you. You can choose to view the information online in your Victims Portal account or to receive the information by phone, by mail or by fax.

If you have named a representative to receive offender information on your behalf, we will send offender information directly to your representative.

Registered victims will continue to receive information about the offender until one of the following occurs:

• The offender's sentence expires. However, if the offender receives a subsequent sentence, you will be notified and asked if you want to receive information about the offender again.
• You request to stop receiving information about the offender. You may choose to start or stop receiving certain types of offender information in the Request Offender Information section of your Victims Portal account. You may also temporarily suspend reception of all information for an offender.
• The offender dies while incarcerated or under supervision in the community.
• We are unable to contact you.

Important: If your contact information changes, please ensure you update this information in your Victims Portal account or call us at one of the numbers below.

Agency	Phone
Correctional Service of Canada	1-866-806-2275
Parole Board of Canada	1-866-789-4636

Yes — Victims of crime may designate a representative to receive information about the offender on their behalf. Representatives fall into two categories:

• Individual Representative — an individual, such as a family member or friend
• Agency Representative — an agent from a government, police or community victim services agency

Note: Victims may name a representative when registering for a Victims Portal account. Once named, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) and/or the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) will contact the named representative using the contact information you provided to confirm their participation and contact preferences. Once confirmed, CSC and/or PBC will contact your representative directly to provide offender information.

For more information on victim representatives, see Victim Representatives.