OTTAWA, ON, June 7, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Harry LaForme and the Honourable Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré launched their consultations on the creation of an independent Criminal Case Review Commission.
On March 31, 2021, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced that he had appointed us to lead public-facing consultations on the creation of an independent Criminal Case Review Commission.
Specifically, the Minister has tasked us with consulting with a wide range of domestic and international stakeholders and reporting back to him with recommendations and options for a new Canadian commission.
While we have accepted this mandate with enthusiasm, we are somewhat humbled by the immense task at hand and the urgency required in order to ensure that, in future, the fate of those who have suffered a miscarriage of justice will be dealt with swiftly, transparently and with the fairness Canadians expect from their justice system.
Since the Minister's announcement, we have assembled a small team of experts to assist us. We have started developing the documents to frame and focus our consultations, and determining the questions that we believe must be addressed in order to advise the Minister on the potential structure and mandate of an independent Criminal Case Review Commission.
We believe strongly that it is important to hear from people with lived experience with Canada's current system of criminal conviction review and criminal justice appeals. A number of organizations and individuals have been identified that we believe can help us realize our mandate. We have begun to reach out and invite them to participate in the consultation process. Those we have reached out to include Innocence Projects, legal, prosecutorial and law enforcement organizations, forensic pathology services, victim advocacy groups, prisoner advocacy groups, representatives of different levels of government, academics, law clinics and organizations that serve diverse communities in society.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website at the address below. On the website, you will find our foundational documents as well as links to commissions in other countries. We welcome your feedback and will provide future updates through this new site.
Have your say: https://can-ccrc-consult.ca/
The Honourable Harry S. LaForme |
The Honourable Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré |
SOURCE Criminal Convictions Review Consultations
Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [email protected]
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