The Alberta government is reversing changes to the service fund for victims who had received criticism from advocacy groups, victims and their families.
Two years ago, the province decided to divert some contributions to the fund to pay for crime reduction programs such as drug treatment courts and Alberta law enforcement (ALERT) response teams.
According to Alberta Justice’s 2021-22 annual report, 59 percent of the $ 64.7 million spent from the fund went to public safety initiatives. About a third, or $ 21 million, went to victim service organizations. Only 8.5% or $ 5.5 million went directly to the victims.
According to the changes announced on Tuesday by Justice Minister Tyler Shandro, the fund will be reused in its entirety to help victims recover from their physical and psychological injuries and support them during the judicial process.
The province is also expanding support and providing emergency assistance when needed.
“We know that the previous financial benefits program was not fast enough and simply did not offer enough immediate support to those who were dealing with the trauma,” Shandro told a news conference. “And that wasn’t acceptable.”
The changes come after UCP MPs Angela Pitt and Nate Neudorf made 19 recommendations after stakeholder consultations.
As of Sept. 1, victims will now have two years, instead of the previous 45-day limit, to apply for help from the fund.
Funding for the counseling, which was limited to $ 1,000 under the old program, will now have a maximum of $ 12,000.
Victims with severe brain or neurological injuries will be able to receive up to $ 100,000 in global funding and monthly payments of $ 1,000. Victims with other types of disabling injuries can apply for a global fund of $ 60,000.
The program will give victims of domestic violence access to emergency financial assistance for temporary housing and relocation. Serious crime victims can seek up to $ 1,000 immediate crisis counseling in addition to $ 11,000 counseling to assist them in the judicial process.
The fund will also cover the expenses of victims who have to travel to appear in court. Families of homicide victims can be reimbursed for funeral expenses up to $ 12,500.
The crime victim fund was valued at $ 44 million as of March 31.
The opposition NDP has criticized the changes to the fund since they were first implemented. Irfan Sabir, the NDP critic for justice, said the victims will still have to wait while the government takes a year to launch the new program.
Sabir said the government’s decision to dive into the fund to pay for public safety programs prevented the victims from receiving the support they deserve.
“The purpose of this fund was to support victims of crime,” he said. “This should not be used to fill the CPU’s cuts to the justice system.”
A Calgary woman whose teenage daughter was sexually assaulted by a man working in a restaurant is dismayed because the government used the money raised to help crime victims to fund what she calls “a law agenda and order “.
He said his daughter’s request for help from the fund was denied, leaving the family to pay tens of thousands of dollars in therapy.
The woman, who the CBC is not identifying, hopes the government will allow the victims to file a retroactive application for financial assistance.
“This would be very important because victims of crime in the last four or five years have absolutely lost the compensation they really need to put their lives back in order,” he said.
The government is disbanding 62 victim service units across Alberta and creating four new regional boards representing the eastern, western, southern and central areas of the province.
Each board will have administrative support staff who will give more time to the workers in the case to support the victims.