Question Period Note: Victims’ Participation in PBC Hearings

• The PBC is committed to ensuring victims' voices are heard and that their rights under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights are respected during the unprecedented situation created by COVID-19.

• PBC hearings normally take place within Correctional Service of Canada institutions where the offender is incarcerated. Due to the pandemic and the closure of some CSC institutions to visitors, including Parole Board members and staff, the majority of hearings are being held remotely by videoconference or teleconference.

• In April 2020, PBC implemented system enhancements to provide victims the ability to participate at PBC hearings via telephone.

• Registered victims can listen to hearings and present their statements for Board members to consider in their decision-making.

• Since April 22, 2020, the PBC has facilitated the participation of 320 victims and 84 victim support persons at 161 hearings by teleconference.

• The PBC is also currently piloting a new videoconferencing solution to allow victims to participate in its hearings by video, while also protecting private and confidential information discussed at parole hearings and the privacy and security of victims.

• To date, the PBC has held three hearings by video with victim participation. Early results from the pilot have yielded positive results.

• The PBC is aiming to have this system fully implemented and available to victims across Canada by the end of the year.

• By law, Board members must take into account all relevant and available information when forming their decisions. This includes information or statements provided by victims of crime, no matter what format they are provided in.

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) is committed to the health and safety of the public, offenders, its Board members and staff as it continues to adapt its policies, processes and operations in response to the unprecedented situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The PBC continues to review offenders’ cases for conditional release; however, as many Correctional Service of Canada facilities are closed to the public, the majority of hearings are being conducted remotely via videoconference or teleconference, as applicable.

These actions align with current advice from public health officials around social distancing and prevention in relation to COVID-19. Limited access to some institutions for offender visits has been reinstated. CSC and the PBC have developed measures for limited in-person hearings to resume on a gradual basis.

For approximately a month, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PBC did not have the capacity to facilitate victim attendance at hearings remotely. Victims were contacted in advance of the hearings and offered the opportunity to submit audio, video and/or written statements for Board Members to consider in their decision-making. This situation has now been addressed and the option to attend PBC hearings via telephone is being offered to all registered victims, and the PBC is working to implement a videoconferencing system.

Victims registered with the PBC can request to listen to the audio recording of certain hearings, as applicable. They can do so by completing and signing the Victim Request to Listen to Audio Recording of Hearing form, and sending it to their nearest PBC regional office.

Registered victims can also access information from both PBC and CSC at any time through the Victims Portal, a secure online service that provides victims with a simple, quick and secure way to send and receive information from the PBC and the Correctional Service of Canada.

Once registered on the Victims Portal, victims may, among other things:

• Receive/view information about the offender;
• View/manage preferences for receiving information;
• Submit a victim statement to PBC and CSC; and
• Request copies of PBC decisions.

Public safety remains the paramount consideration in all PBC decisions.

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