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economist sunthe tribune thursday june 191997 5 ontario government institutes annual victims of crime day solicitor general and minister of correc tional services robert runciman attorney general charles harnick and the minister responsible for womens issues dianne cunningham have united to honor the first annual day of commemoration for victims of crime ontario 1996 victims bill of rights provided foe designating june 11 as the annual day of commemoration for victims of crime and established the victims jus tice fund to improve and expand victims services in 199697 102 million was allocated from the fund to create new and expand on existing services for victims in toronto runciman announced that ontarios victim crisis assistance and referral service vcars an immediate onsite service to victims of crime will expand to 20 locations with the addition of eight new sites across the province last june our government made a com mitment to rebalance the justice system in favor of victims rather than criminals said runciman expanding the vcars program reflects our commitment to enhancing the victims role in the justice system it further guaran tees that services will be available when needed to victims in their own communi ties in ottawa harnick author of ontarios victims bill of rights illustrated his fur ther commitment to victims of crime by doubling the services available to victims in ontarios courts and opening two domestic court pilot projects in toronto and north york in addition harnick outlined the govern ments attempts to recognize the rights of victims and provide services and support to victims of crime as highlighted in a recent annual report our historic bill acknowledges and responds to the needs of victims of crime with legislation to support them with timely respectful and courteous treatment through out the criminal justice system said har nick after meeting with the canadian resource centre for victims we have taken significant- steps forward to support victims of crime i applaud the ontario government for its support and commitment to victims of crime i urge the federal government to take similar steps to address victims issues and repeal section 745 of the criminal code of canada make real changes to the young offenders act and legislate a similar vic tims bill of rights said steve sulnvari of the canadian resource centre for victims victims of crime are a priority for this government at all times said cunningham we have made that commitment but we must do more we must all continue to seek new ways to better support those who have been victimized by crime in 1996 ontario moved to strengthen vic tims rights with new legislation and a series of new initiatives jointly announced by the ministry of the attorney general and the ministry of the solicitor general and correctional services the provinces victims bill of rights was an important step in the provinces efforts to acknowledge and respond to the needs of victims of crime the bill legislates a set of principles to support victims of crime it also simplifies the process for victims to sue their assailants in civil actions for damages and provides better support for children who must testify in court responding to the many important issues raised for review ty victims of crime the government of ontariois making changes to its own legislation and regulations and calling for changes in related federal legisla- tion some of those changes include the fol lowing bill 102 proposes amendments to existing legislation in two areas to protect the public from highrisk offenders several changes have been implemented to ontarios parole system the board can no longer grantparole to serious offenders if such information as police occurrence reports is not available for review more changes are under way the victim support line is the first service of its kind in canada dial 1- 8885792888 for tollfree access to a variety of services for victims of crime a tollfree infonnation line with two services options for victims of crime was launched in november 1996 a third service was added in january 1997 by calling 18885792888 or 4163142447 in thetoronto area 24 hours a day from anywhere in ontario anyone in the province affect ed by crime can get assistance eat y oy m frxixcifcxxx m mmr fjv f- ill ki vvv mm mmtm ww mis v mm ii tt save 1 0 tq 50 on a great i i selection of regular sale and 1 i clearancepriced merchandise f i it i hi come in and pick up your scratchoff game card intorf 1 m i i uffer excludes cosmetics fragrances bath body sunglass hut all jockey calvin klein merchandise h easyspirit shoes liz claiborne guess fashion apparel and accessories mens womens regular- and salepriced designer collections gucci watches estate sale- clearancepriced merchandise in fine jewellery 1 mot blanc accessories prospector footwear home electronics major appliances cameras home office equipment floyal velvet and eaton home towels prerecorded video audio 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