QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Victims of Crime
September 28, 2026
Government leader, I will continue from where Senator Housakos left off by addressing another terrible incident. According to a recent National Post report, a man charged with sexually abusing his own daughter had his case dismissed not because the allegations were disproven but because of more than nine years of delay after he failed to appear in court in 2017.
Senator Moreau, I’m sure you can appreciate the enormous courage it takes for victims in cases like this to come forward. What message does this send to them?
Those are unfortunate situations, but you know as well as I do that this is the consequence of a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada ensuring any person in the justice system has the right to trial in a timely manner. The problem is not only with this case but with other cases as well. The government is well aware of that, and that is the reason why we put in all the needed resources to ensure those cases have hearings in a timely manner.
There will be some situations like that. It is not the first one since the decision of the court, but the government is acting accordingly to bring the necessary resources to the Crown prosecutor.
Victims should not have to come forward, wait years and then watch a serious case disappear because the system failed to move it forward. How many more victims must be failed by systemic delays before the government takes concrete action to reduce delays, improve police responsiveness and ensure victims are not left waiting for justice for years on end? This is unacceptable.
I agree with your premise: No victim should face such an unfortunate situation. The government is taking action by bringing resources to the courts and Crown prosecutors to ensure that those delays do not occur. There are also procedural techniques to ensure that those things won’t happen, and I know that the Crown prosecutors are very well aware of that.
