Welland, Ontario MP Tables Bill To Strengthen Victims’ Rights In Canada

News from the Office of Welland Riding NDP federal representative Malcolm Allen 

Ottawa, May 15^th, 2014 – This May 15^th, Welland MP Malcolm Allen introduced a Private Member’s Bill to strengthen victims’ rights in relation to offences committed in Canada by a permanent resident or foreign national.

Malcolm Allen, NDP representative for the Welland Riding in Niagara, Ontario.

The bill is the result of Allen’s work with one of his constituents, Dawn Colson, who had several threats made against her and feared for her life when her ex-husband – a Cuban national with a violent criminal record in Canada – was arrested after subjecting Colson to repeated physical and sexual abuse.

“Ms. Colson suffered unbearable hardship due in large part to the lack of information she was able to receive from Canadian authorities about the status of her attacker,” said Allen. “It is our hope that this bill will help prevent others from suffering in the future.” 

Had her ex-husband been a Canadian citizen, Ms. Colson would have had a right, as a victim, to find out when and where he was released from custody. But because he was a foreign national in the custody of the Canadian Border Services Agency, this information was protected by federal privacy laws. 

Allen’s bill would require the Minister of Public Safety to notify victims when the permanent resident or foreign national is removed from the country, detained for deportation or illegally re-enters Canada after being removed. It also allows the victim to submit a statement to be taken into consideration in decisions regarding the release of the offender.

“I think all Parliamentarians can agree that victims should be treated equally, regardless of the immigration status of the offender,” said Allen. “I encourage my colleagues from all sides of the House to come together to support this bill.”

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