More help is sought for the relatives of the people murdered

Nicolas Lachance

Thursday, February 22, 2018 12:31

UPDATE
Thursday, 22-feb-2018 13:00

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Parents of children murdered and the opposition parties are asking the minister of Justice to put an end to the discrimination of certain crime victims and call for a modernization of the compensation program.

Audrey Carey, a young law student at the University of Sherbrooke made his first trip to California in the fall of 2015, only, when she was killed by three young homeless people who wanted to rob him of his money.

Photo Facebook

Since then, his mother Isabelle Tremblay should grieve without having access to a penny of Compensation to victims of criminal acts (IVAC).

“By the geographical situation, so, me, I have not been recognised as a victim or even as a near victim. So, I’m still on a waiting list to receive services adequate to the grief traumatic”, said Ms. Tremblay, in the company of the vice-leader of the PQ, Véronique Hivon, to put pressure on the minister of Justice, Stéphanie Vallée, to ensure that victims outside Quebec have the right to the IVAC.

“There are situations absolutely inexplicable, at this time, in the compensation and especially the support that is given to parents of victims of crime,” said Ms. Hivon. “If you die of a car accident outside of Québec, we will be compensated, but it will not be if it is a criminal act”.

Lack of support

Other relatives of victims were also present to seek the reimbursement of the costs of the immediate families of the victims murdered so that they could attend the trial of the accused. A request for the enhancement of the psychological help is also on the menu.

In this context, Marlène Dufresne addressed the media of the national Assembly tears to my eyes. The mother of the young Gabrielle Dufresne-Elijah, who was killed on June 7, 2014 talked of the financial difficulties she had faced during the 10 weeks of the trial of the man accused in this folder.

In 2019, she will have to attend a second trial for her daughter, because the jurors have not managed to hear the first time. “I will have to still pay for to introduce myself to defend my daughter. I am not also recognized by the IVAC as a victim of a criminal act,” said Ms. Dufresne.

The spokesperson on Justice for the CAQ, Simon Jolin-Barrette, also requested the minister of Justice to modernize the IVAC. He called for a parliamentary commission to hear all the stakeholders.

“The State does not have to put sticks in the wheels of the families of the victims and of the victims. But, it must be behind them, to support them, to facilitate the reconstruction process, the grieving process too,” he said.

The minister on the defensive

The minister of Justice, Stéphanie Vallée, argues that the opposition parties “do not have the monopoly of compassion”.

Photo Simon Clark

“Bonuses at the IVAC, I’ve brought several since the beginning of my mandate (…) It is to get a fair balance of equity between the victims, the fairness between the different realities experienced by the victims and their loved ones, and also the capacity to pay of the entire quebec population,” said Ms. Valley.

She has also had to defend itself on the issue during question period this morning, while relatives of the persons murdered were taking place in the grandstands of the blue Room.