FORD NATION
Ontario terminates compensation for victims of violent crimesDeirdre McDade, CALC’s Co-Director of Legal Services, says the cuts are regressive, draconian and an attack on the province’s most vulnerable.
Published on: May 2, 2019 |
TIM MEEKS/THE INTELLIGENCER
Published on: May 2, 2019 |
TIM MEEKS/THE INTELLIGENCER
TIM MEEKS/THE INTELLIGENCER Dierdre McDade, the Community Advocacy and Legal Centre's Co-Director of Legal Services, says the Ontario government's plan to dismantle the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board will disproportionately affect women who are victims of crime and who account for two-thirds of CICB applications.
Dierdre McDade, the Community Advocacy and Legal Centre's Co-Director of Legal Services, says the Ontario government's plan to dismantle the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board will disproportionately affect women who are victims of crime and who account for two-thirds of CICB applications.
Plans by the Ontario government to terminate the compensation program for victims of violent crime, currently administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB), will cause even more pain and suffering, say advocates.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board currently provides victims of violent crime with up to $25,000 to cover therapy, lost wages, medical bills, funeral expenses and intangible costs for pain and suffering. However, the province plans to cap awards for pain and suffering at $5,000 for all victims, even if they have suffered extensive childhood abuse, sexual assault, or were the target of domestic violence.
According to the board’s 2017-18 annual report, pain and suffering accounted for almost $33 million of the compensation claims it paid out in a year that saw 3,569 cases resolved at a hearing.
By comparison, if each of those cases had resulted in a maximum payment of $5,000, the board would have paid out less than $18 million.
Compensation for pain and suffering accounted for 95 per cent of the board’s payments in 2017-18.For 30 years the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) has helped local victims, mostly women, to recover up to $25,000 to help compensate for pain and suffering they experienced at the hands of their abuser.
Deirdre McDade, CALC’s Co-Director of Legal Services, says the cuts are regressive, draconian and an attack on the province’s most vulnerable.
“We recover approximately $1 million annually for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault. The average compensation received for pain and suffering is $20,000. These awards are life-changing and allow victims to receive trauma therapy, cover medical expenses, and move on with their lives after receiving official recognition that they were victims of crime and their recovery is recognized as important,” McDade said.
“Locally we represent about a hundred people a year and across the province they handle about 5,000 files a year,” she said.
“The really draconian thing about it is that in the past drastic changes to programs like this didn’t affect the people already in the system having their files dealt with. They just continued on through the process and it only affected new files. But this will actually change as soon as the Budget Bill receives Royal Asscent in probably in June or July. It’s really unusual to change the process for people who are already in the middle of it and who had a reasonable expectation that there would be a different outcome than there was,” McDade said.
The budget also proposed increasing the total available funding for one victim to $30,000, however, McDade said that is to cover potential expenses for victims.
“The maximum is now $5,000 and the maximum is usually set aside for children of murder victims, the most catastrophic incidents. So who knows, people could get $500.
“They’re only going to put $16 million into the new system, so they know they’re going to save money. They’ve probably over budgeted on the $16 million, I don’t think that will actually get spent because the $30,000 maximum they said they would give people is for expenses and nobody has $30,000 in expenses. We have people who had a prescription for a hundred bucks or physio for $500, nobody is going to get $30,000 in expenses because they’re probably not going to incur it. The pain and suffering reduction is the big loss,” McDade said.
McDade, who also co-chairs the government’s CICB Practice Advisory Committee, said the provincial committee was not consulted about this change or any other threatened changes, including dismantling of the CICB.
“Under this new proposed system, victims will now get significantly less compensation and will no longer have an opportunity to have their case heard before an impartial adjudicator,” she said. McDade, also observed that hearings provide victims with a sense of justice they have often been denied, noting these hearings help provide an opportunity for victims to heal.
“The CICB’s current victim-centered trauma-informed approach will soon be replaced by a bureaucratic system that reduces compensation for the most vulnerable,” she said.
The dismantling of a system that has worked well since 1971 will disproportionately affect women who are victims of crime and who account for two-thirds of CICB applications.
CALC has met with Bay of Quinte MPP and Government House Leader Todd Smith, and asked for further information about the proposed changes, and asked him to ensure that the voices of victims and their advocates are heard about these unjust changes.
“If the government cares about victims, their rights, and fair treatment and compensation, why are they making these regressive changes?” asked McDade.
The next big hit McDade is expecting comes May 14 when they find out how much is being slashed from Legal Aid.
“The government said they’re cutting 30 per cent, but we don’t know how much that is to the clinic side and we’ll find that out. We cover all of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox and Addington, we’re already stretched, we’re not a big bureaucracy with hundereds of staff,” she said, adding it will result in reduction of services.
The Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) is a non-profit community legal clinic principally funded by Legal Aid Ontario. The clinic was founded in 1980 and provides poverty law services to low income residents of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox & Addington counties. The clinic’s main office is in Belleville, with satellite locations in Trenton, Picton, Tyendinaga, Napanee, Amherstview, Tweed, Madoc and Bancroft.
For more information, visit CALC’s website at www.communitylegalcentre.ca.
Plans by the Ontario government to terminate the compensation program for victims of violent crime, currently administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB), will cause even more pain and suffering, say advocates.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board currently provides victims of violent crime with up to $25,000 to cover therapy, lost wages, medical bills, funeral expenses and intangible costs for pain and suffering. However, the province plans to cap awards for pain and suffering at $5,000 for all victims, even if they have suffered extensive childhood abuse, sexual assault, or were the target of domestic violence.
According to the board’s 2017-18 annual report, pain and suffering accounted for almost $33 million of the compensation claims it paid out in a year that saw 3,569 cases resolved at a hearing.
By comparison, if each of those cases had resulted in a maximum payment of $5,000, the board would have paid out less than $18 million.
Compensation for pain and suffering accounted for 95 per cent of the board’s payments in 2017-18.For 30 years the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) has helped local victims, mostly women, to recover up to $25,000 to help compensate for pain and suffering they experienced at the hands of their abuser.
Deirdre McDade, CALC’s Co-Director of Legal Services, says the cuts are regressive, draconian and an attack on the province’s most vulnerable.
“We recover approximately $1 million annually for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault. The average compensation received for pain and suffering is $20,000. These awards are life-changing and allow victims to receive trauma therapy, cover medical expenses, and move on with their lives after receiving official recognition that they were victims of crime and their recovery is recognized as important,” McDade said.
“Locally we represent about a hundred people a year and across the province they handle about 5,000 files a year,” she said.
“The really draconian thing about it is that in the past drastic changes to programs like this didn’t affect the people already in the system having their files dealt with. They just continued on through the process and it only affected new files. But this will actually change as soon as the Budget Bill receives Royal Asscent in probably in June or July. It’s really unusual to change the process for people who are already in the middle of it and who had a reasonable expectation that there would be a different outcome than there was,” McDade said.
The budget also proposed increasing the total available funding for one victim to $30,000, however, McDade said that is to cover potential expenses for victims.
“The maximum is now $5,000 and the maximum is usually set aside for children of murder victims, the most catastrophic incidents. So who knows, people could get $500.
“They’re only going to put $16 million into the new system, so they know they’re going to save money. They’ve probably over budgeted on the $16 million, I don’t think that will actually get spent because the $30,000 maximum they said they would give people is for expenses and nobody has $30,000 in expenses. We have people who had a prescription for a hundred bucks or physio for $500, nobody is going to get $30,000 in expenses because they’re probably not going to incur it. The pain and suffering reduction is the big loss,” McDade said.
McDade, who also co-chairs the government’s CICB Practice Advisory Committee, said the provincial committee was not consulted about this change or any other threatened changes, including dismantling of the CICB.
“Under this new proposed system, victims will now get significantly less compensation and will no longer have an opportunity to have their case heard before an impartial adjudicator,” she said. McDade, also observed that hearings provide victims with a sense of justice they have often been denied, noting these hearings help provide an opportunity for victims to heal.
“The CICB’s current victim-centered trauma-informed approach will soon be replaced by a bureaucratic system that reduces compensation for the most vulnerable,” she said.
The dismantling of a system that has worked well since 1971 will disproportionately affect women who are victims of crime and who account for two-thirds of CICB applications.
CALC has met with Bay of Quinte MPP and Government House Leader Todd Smith, and asked for further information about the proposed changes, and asked him to ensure that the voices of victims and their advocates are heard about these unjust changes.
“If the government cares about victims, their rights, and fair treatment and compensation, why are they making these regressive changes?” asked McDade.
The next big hit McDade is expecting comes May 14 when they find out how much is being slashed from Legal Aid.
“The government said they’re cutting 30 per cent, but we don’t know how much that is to the clinic side and we’ll find that out. We cover all of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox and Addington, we’re already stretched, we’re not a big bureaucracy with hundereds of staff,” she said, adding it will result in reduction of services.
The Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) is a non-profit community legal clinic principally funded by Legal Aid Ontario. The clinic was founded in 1980 and provides poverty law services to low income residents of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox & Addington counties. The clinic’s main office is in Belleville, with satellite locations in Trenton, Picton, Tyendinaga, Napanee, Amherstview, Tweed, Madoc and Bancroft.
For more information, visit CALC’s website at www.communitylegalcentre.ca.
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