Justice Canada Knowledge Exchange 2017: The criminal justice system’s responses to sexual assault against adults
Agenda
Hilton Lac-Leamy
3, boulevard du Casino
Gatineau, Quebec
Pre-Knowledge Exchange Reception
Tuesday March 7, 2017, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
- Opening Remarks - Nathalie G. Drouin, Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Justice
- Armchair Discussion - Cherry Smiley, Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) and Dine' (Navajo) artist, feminist activist and PhD student
Isobel Granger, Staff Sergeant, Ottawa Police Service - Networking - Hors-d'oeuvre provided, Cash bar
Knowledge Exchange
Wednesday March 8, 2017
- 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
- Registration and Networking
- 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
- Indigenous Welcome and Song
Roberta Della-Picca - Opening Remarks
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Panel 1: Sexual Assault in Canada: Statistics and the Law
- 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
This panel will provide an overview of recent Canadian data on sexual assault against adults and how the data has evolved over time. The panel will also provide an overview of the history of sexual assault law in Canada including the role of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in sexual assault cases.
Carole Morency - Director General and Senior General Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Justice Canada
Kathy AuCoin - Chief, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada
- 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
This panel will discuss the sexual assault reporting rates to police, barriers to reporting, available supports for survivors and promising practices related to reporting and police investigations.
Video: Victims and Survivors on Reporting and Investigations
Holly Johnson - Professor, Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa
Jennifer Richard - Director of Community Development, Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre
Shawn Devine - Chief, North Bay Police Service
Terry L. Fromson - Managing Attorney, Women's Law Project, Philadelphia
Thomas McDevitt - Lieutenant, Special Victims Unit, Philadelphia Police Service (Retired)
- 10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
- Networking Break
Refreshments provided - 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
This panel will discuss the elements of sexual assault offences; the legal definition of consent; available defences; the roles of the Crown attorney, defence counsel and the bench; and trends in the law.
Video: Victims and Survivors on the Trial Process
Janine Benedet - Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia
Carmen Rioux - Crown Attorney, Quebec
Genevieve McInnes - Defence Counsel, Edelson Clifford D'Angelo Friedman LLP, Ottawa
Kathleen Dufour - Centres d'aide aux victimes d'actes criminels (CAVAC), Gatineau
The Honourable Marie Corbett, QC - Judge of the Ontario Superior Court (retired)
- 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Keynote Address: The Impact of Trauma on the Brain
Dr. Lori Haskell, Clinical Psychologist
Buffet lunch provided - 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
The discussion of the sexual assault trial continues with a discussion of the rules of evidence; third party records regime; complainant's sexual history; professional ethics; the use of testimonial aids and expert witnesses.
Karen Busby - Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba
Jill Witkin - Counsel, Crown Law Office - Criminal (Ontario), Chair, Sexual Violence Advisory Group
Michael Spratt - Defence Counsel, Abergel Goldstein & Partners LLP, Ottawa
David Butt - Barrister, Camden Lane Law Chambers, Toronto
The Honourable Marie Corbett, QC - Judge of the Ontario Superior Court (retired)
- 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
This panel will discuss current issues in sentencing and corrections for offenders found guilty of sexual assault, including issues related to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, the Gladue principles, victim impact statements and community impact statements, therapeutic models and promising practices.
Video: Victims and Survivors on Sentencing, Corrections and Restorative Justice
Guy Bourgon - Senior Research Advisor, Research Division, Public Safety Canada
Sue Bogle - Crown Counsel, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Yukon Regional Office
Breese Davies - Defence Counsel, Breese Davies Law; Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto
Anita Parker - Native Services Program, John Howard Society of London and District
- 3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
- Networking Break
Refreshments provided - 3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
This panel will discuss promising practices to address sexual assault against adults from Canada and other common-law jurisdictions. The panelists will also examine alternative approaches to the traditional criminal justice process, including restorative justice.
Carmen Rioux - Crown Attorney, Quebec
Jill Witkin - Counsel, Crown Law Office - Criminal (Ontario), Chair, Sexual Violence Advisory Group
Kate McKenzie-Bridle - Senior Legal and Policy Advisor, New Zealand Law Commission
Jo-Anne Wemmers - International Centre for Comparative Criminology, University of Montreal
Melanie Randall - Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario
- 4:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Closing Remarks
Carole Morency, Director General and Senior General Counsel, Criminal Law Policy Section, Justice Canada - Date modified: