Victims in the Criminal Justice Process:
Roles, Rights and Resources

Rights, roles and resources for victims of crimes

Victims have an important role in Canada’s criminal justice system, including reporting a crime, testifying at trial and presenting a victim impact statement. Victims’ roles are supported by rights, which fall into the following four categories: 

• the right to information 
• the right to participation 
• the right to protection 
• the right to seek restitution

When a victim reports an incident or criminal activity

Victims have the right to request information about their rights as victims, the criminal justice system and their role in it, the services and programs available to them, and the status and outcome of the investigation into the offence. 

Every victim has the right to have their security considered by appropriate authorities in the criminal justice system, and to be protected from intimidation and retaliation. If you have a reasonable fear that someone is going to harm you, your children or your property, protection can be arranged in certain cases outside of court in the form of a peace bond.

Your resources: 

Peace bond – a protection order made by a court where an individual (the defendant) appears likely to commit a criminal offence, but there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has actually been committed

• Any person who fears that another person may injure them, their spouse or common-law partner, or a child, or may damage their property may obtain a peace bond

The Victim Services Directory provides an on-line directory of victim services that allows you to filter your search by postal code, type of victimization and type of service or service provider name

Courts – victims and witnesses

All criminal cases begin in provincial court and most are dealt with there. In Canadian law, crimes are dealt with as wrongs against society as a whole, not simply as private matters between two people. A Crown prosecutor is therefore not the victim's lawyer, but is acting on behalf of all members of the public. 

Before a case goes to trial, the Court decides whether to detain the accused person by means of a bail hearing. At these hearings, the Crown prosecutor presents a summary of the offence to the Court, which will then take into account the seriousness of the charge and the safety of the victims and witnesses.

Court services for victims

Courts are administered by the provinces and territories. Select a province or territory below to learn about court services that are available to victims of crime:

• Alberta, 
• British Columbia, 
• Manitoba, 
• New Brunswick, 
• Newfoundland, 
• Northwest Territories, 
• Nova Scotia, 
• Nunavut, 
• Ontario, 
• Prince Edward Island, 
• Quebec, 
• Saskatchewan, 
• Yukon

 Your resources

• Roles in the courtroom – explaining the roles of people in the Court including the judge, jury, prosecutors, defence lawyers, witnesses and victims.
• Plea bargain – an agreement by the accused to plead guilty in return for the Crown agreeing to take or refrain from taking a particular course of action.
• Criminal offences – the main categories of criminal offences in Canada are summary conviction offences, which are less serious, and indictable offences.
• Victim impact statement – a written statement that describes the physical or emotional harm, property damage, or economic loss that the victim of an offence has suffered. This is not the same as a victim statement.
• Testimonial aids for young witnesses and victims – provisions that can be used to protect young victims and witnesses under eighteen years of age and make it easier for them to provide their testimony in a criminal case.
• Publication bans – an order made by the Court that prevents anyone from publishing, broadcasting, or sending any information that could identify a victim, witness, or other person who participates in the criminal justice system for their protection.
• Trial – the formal process where the Court will decide whether the prosecutor proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offence charged.
• Victim surcharge – a monetary penalty automatically imposed on offenders at the time of sentencing.

More resources for victims are available from other departments – these include victim representatives and options for restorative justice.

Prison and parole

Offenders who receive sentences of two years or more enter the federal corrections and conditional release system. Victims harmed by these offenders can register as a victim with Correctional Service Canada (CSC) or the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) to receive information the offender, as well as the corrections and conditional release process.

CSC carries out sentences imposed by courts and assists in the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community.

PBC is an independent administrative tribunal that has exclusive authority to grant, deny, cancel, terminate or revoke conditional release.

Your roles

• Attending a Parole Hearing – anyone can request to observe a PBC hearing, and victims of crime can access additional services from the PBC.
• Victim Statement – a statement that describes for Board members any concerns victims have for their safety, that of families or their communities.
• Information about the offender – victims who register with the PBC will receive information such as:  
  
  • the offender's name
  • the offence and the court of conviction
  • the sentence start date and length
  • the offender's eligibility and review dates for unescorted temporary absences, parole, or statutory release

Your resources

Correctional Service Canada, Victim Services has dedicated Victim Services Officers who register victims, provide registered victims information about the offender who harmed them and receive victim statements.

Parole Board of Canada, Victims Services has dedicated Regional Communications Officers (RCO's) who provide services to victims including certain information about the offender, including notification of when a parole hearing is scheduled for the offender. Victims may also present a victim statement at the hearing. They can listen to an audio recording of the hearing and request a copy of a written decision.

National Office for Victims is a central resource that offers information to victims, and also provides input on policy and legislative initiatives, education about victims' issues for members of the criminal justice system, and networking and support to the Correctional Service of Canada and the Parole Board of Canada.

Victims fund for attending a Parole Hearing offers financial assistance to registered victims who wish to attend hearings for the offender who harmed them in order to help victims participate more fully in the criminal justice system.

Other government departments, offices and services for victims including contact information for provincial and territorial governments’ Victims Services, the Policy Centre for Victim Issues, community-based victim services and advocacy groups and services for Indigenous victims of crime.