[38] Bill 160 Original (PDF)
Bill 160 2006
An Act to amend
the Compensation for
Victims of Crime Act
Note: This Act amends the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act. For the legislative history of the Act, see Public Statutes - Detailed Legislative History on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.
Preamble
Victims of crime in Ontario and, if they are deceased, their personal representatives need to be informed of the possibility of making a claim for compensation under the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act.
Persons who make an application under the Act for the payment of compensation frequently have specific financial needs in the immediate aftermath of the crime. They deserve to have the Board under the Act deal with their application without delay and to have an opportunity to respond in cases where the Board proposes to refuse their application.
Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
1. Section 5 of the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act is amended by adding the following subsection:
Duty of police force
(2) Every police force that investigates an injury or death in Ontario of a person occurring in or resulting from any of the circumstances described in clauses (1) (a), (b) and (c) shall inform the person or, if the person is deceased, the personal representative of the person that an application for the payment of compensation may be made under subsection (1) and shall provide to the person so informed the information that the Minister specifies.
2. Section 14 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:
Mandatory payment
(1.1) The Board shall order interim payments under subsection (1) to the applicant if the Board receives written notice from the police force investigating the injury or death that is the subject of the application for compensation under section 5 that the injury or death has been reported to a police force and that the investigating police force reasonably believes that,
(a) the applicant is eligible to receive compensation; and
(b) the applicant requires the immediate financial assistance specified in the notice with respect to support, counselling, medical expenses or funeral expenses.
Time for payment
(1.2) If, under subsection (1.1), the Board orders interim payments, the Board shall make the payments within 14 days of receiving the notice from the investigating police force and shall make them directly to the person providing the support, counselling, medical expenses or funeral expenses if possible or to the applicant directly if not possible.
Maximum payments
(1.3) Within 30 days after this subsection comes into force, the Board shall set a maximum amount of the interim payments that the Board may order to an applicant under this section in respect of each of the areas of support, counselling, medical expenses and funeral expenses.
Same
(1.4) The Board shall not order interim payments to an applicant under this section that, in aggregate with respect to any one application for compensation under section 5, exceed the amount of $4,000,000 or the maximum amounts that the Board has set for each of the areas mentioned in subsection (1.3).
3. Subsection 16 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Compensation not dependent on a conviction
(1) The Board may make an order for compensation whether or not any person is prosecuted for or convicted of the offence giving rise to the injury or death.
Adjournment
(1.1) The Board may, on its own initiative or upon the application of the Minister, adjourn its proceedings pending the final determination of a prosecution or intended prosecution only if the Board considers that the issue of whether there is an offence is relevant to making an order for compensation.
4. Section 17 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:
Refusal of compensation
(4) The Board shall not refuse to pay compensation under section 5 unless it,
(a) receives written notice from the police force investigating the injury or death that is the subject of the application for compensation that the police force reasonably believes that the Board should pay no compensation; and
(b) provides the applicant with a copy of the notice and gives the applicant an opportunity to respond to the notice at the hearing required under section 8.
5. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Time for order of compensation
17.1 Within 180 days of receiving a completed application for compensation under section 5, the Board shall make its decision on whether to pay the compensation unless it is not possible to do so, in which case the Board shall notify the Minister in writing of the reasons for that within 30 days after the 180-day period has expired.
Commencement
6. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Short title
7. The short title of this Act is the Compensation for Victims of Crime Amendment Act, 2006.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Bill amends the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act.
Every police force that investigates an injury or death in Ontario of a person occurring in or resulting from any of the circumstances for which an application for compensation could be made under the Act shall inform the person or, if the person is deceased, the personal representative of the person of the possibility for making the application.
At present, under section 14 of the Act, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board has discretion to order interim compensation to an applicant if it appears to the Board that the applicant will probably be awarded compensation. The Bill requires the Board to award interim compensation to the applicant if the Board receives written notice from the police force investigating the injury or death, that is the subject of the application for compensation, that the injury or death has been reported to a police force and that the investigating police force reasonably believes both that the applicant is eligible to receive compensation and that the applicant requires immediate interim compensation.
The Bill limits the power of the Board under section 16 of the Act to adjourn its proceedings to cases where it considers that the issue of whether there is an offence is relevant to making an order for compensation.
The Board cannot refuse to pay compensation under the Act unless it receives written notice from the police force investigating the injury or death that is the subject of the application for compensation that the police force reasonably believes that the Board should pay no compensation. The Board is required to provide the applicant with a copy of the notice and to give the applicant an opportunity to respond to the notice at the hearing of the application.
The Board is required to make its decision on whether to pay compensation under the Act within 180 days of receiving a completed application for compensation, unless it is not possible to do so within that time.