Victim Service Units across the country are left in the dark following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that victim fine surcharges from criminal offences are unconstitutional.
“Honestly, we don’t know how this is going to affect us at this point,” expressed Debbie Winstone, program manager for the Bonnyville Victim Services Unit (VSU).
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, a victim fine surcharge is 30 per cent of any fine imposed for an offence. If one isn’t included, a $100 fee will be applied for summary convictions and $200 for indictment charge.
While sentencing judges can increase the amount at their discretion, they can’t decrease or waive it for any reason.
Any money collected through the surcharge was put into the Victims of Crime Fund, which units would access through an Alberta Justice and Solicitor General managed grant. The funding through the program covers operational costs for each unit, however, anything else is paid for through donations.
Winstone said programs such as victim services dogs like Odie aren’t included, and any expenses for him are covered through sponsors or fundraising.
Money from the surcharge was also used for the financial benefit plan. Winstone described it as “a program where victims of crime can apply to be compensated if they’ve been affected by crime.”
Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr believes the victim fine surcharge being labelled unconstitutional will have a major impact on the services offered to Albertans.
“The majority of their funding comes from the Victims of Crime Fund, and when you look at the fact that the fund is no longer going to have the victim surcharge pour into it, it will absolutely have an impact on them. I would say that it’s going to be a real concern for them, because where exactly is this critical gap that’s been created by this decision by the courts? How is this money going to be made up?” Cyr stated.
In a press release, the president for the Alberta Police Based Victim Service Association, Alf Rudd, agreed.
“Loss of funding will lead to critical gaps... Recent progress made by the Justice and Solicitor General in ensuring funding reaches all victims in Alberta is now placed in jeopardy.”
For victims of crime, the services available help them during one of the worst times of their lives.
“We have people that have been victimized in whatever type of crime, who have never been involved with the justice system before, and it’s pretty daunting if you have been sexually abused or in a domestic violence situation,” Winstone stressed. “It’s pretty daunting to navigate those channels and figure out what’s out there for you, to help support you while you’re going through that. That’s our job, we navigate through the justice system, we keep in contact with those people, and we make referrals to other agencies in town.”
In the Dec. 14, 2018 ruling, Justice Sheila Martin noted “many of people involved in our criminal justice system are poor, live with addiction or mental health issues, and are otherwise disadvantaged or marginalized.”
She said an inability to pay the surcharge “may further contribute to their disadvantage and stigmatization.”
While Cyr agreed the surcharge may impact suspects negatively, he believes there is be a better solution to the issue.
“There has to be a way that we could still (include) a victim surcharge and be able to deal with that. Not just go down and strike the whole thing out,” he stated.
Winstone isn’t sure what what type of influence the decision will have on VSU, she is remaining positive.
“I think we play a critical part in the community, and all we can do is hope for the best.”
