Ford’s cut to victim services will rip support from families: NDP

QUEEN’S PARK — The Ontario NDP Attorney General critic, Gurratan Singh, released this statement in response to today’s Ford government announcement about changes to support services for victims of violent crime and their families — an announcement that failed to mention that the Ford government is cutting support for a fund that helped victims:

“Survivors of crime and their families need compassion and support, yet Doug Ford is scrapping a law that provided financial help to victims of crime, and cutting millions from a fund that helped victims and their families recover.

Since Ford’s cut to victim services was first announced in his government’s 2019 budget, advocates across Ontario have worried that Ford slashing victim compensation funds mean victims and their families will be left short when it comes to covering things like funeral costs, physical and psychological therapy and wages lost while recovering.

A victim of a violent crime could previously get a maximum amount of $25,000 to rebuild their life. With Doug Ford’s cuts to compensation, survivors of heinous crimes will not be able to get the services they need and deserve.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board that Ford is scrapping certainly had issues — many of these stemming from years of underfunding by previous Conservative and Liberal governments — but getting rid of the body that determined how much compensation victims and their families were owed is not the answer. What recourse will victims and families who need to appeal the amount of compensation they are given now have?

Survivors of crime and the families of victims need more support, not less.”