Thank you so much for inviting the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime to appear before you.

We have come here today to voice the support of our board of directors for the amendments proposed in Bill C-591. It is our understanding that this bill will amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act to deny CPP survivor benefits and the OAS allowance to people convicted of murdering their spouse, common-law partner, or parent. We support this legislation so that persons convicted of first and second-degree murder can no longer benefit from their crimes in Canada. We believe the majority of Canadians would agree and support this bill.

Where we would like to see an amendment to the legislation is to include manslaughter as a reason for revoking pension entitlements. We understand that in cases of manslaughter the principle of ex turpi causa does not always clearly apply as it does in the cases of first and second-degree murder convictions, since they do not necessarily involve the intent to kill and can involve abuse, provocation, or accident. In his speech last June the member from Chatham-Kent-Essex stated:

Courts have said that the principle of ex turpi causa should not be applied automatically to manslaughter and other offences involving responsibility for a death without examining the specific circumstances of each case.

We feel that not including manslaughter in the bill does create a huge policy gap, especially when we consider that the largest portion of family-related homicides are spousal murders and that a great number of those result in a plea bargain to reduce the conviction of manslaughter.

If we are amending the law to ensure that no one convicted of murder can collect pension benefits, we must also address the case where charges are plea bargained down to manslaughter. We feel it is not acceptable for a killer to collect pension benefits in either case, especially if there is a history of violence towards the victim. Plea bargains are often also a reflection of an overburdened court system, which is a loophole that we must close. Intimate partner abuse is a very serious issue in Canada, particularly for Canadian women. Women are overwhelmingly the victims. This is also true in the case of spousal homicide. We know from Stats Canada data that about half, or 49%, of all female murder victims in Canada were killed by a former or current intimate partner. In contrast, only 7% of male murder victims were killed by an intimate partner. No one wants to see killers benefit from their heinous act. It is an insult to the families of the victims, to taxpayers, as well as to the principles of justice. Certainly, no person who pays taxes and personally contributes to an insurance plan wants to see murderers receive a benefit for killing someone. Thankfully, this is a rare situation in Canada.

I understand from the debates in the House and the last witnesses who were just here that an average of 48 people a year have been charged with spousal murder. Most of these were young men charged with killing their wives or female partners. Then, again, between 2003 and 2012 an average of 21 individuals in all age categories were accused of killing a parent or step-parent.

We agree that no one wants to see those who suffer the murder of a loved one also suffer the added insult of seeing the one responsible for that death collecting the victim's benefits as well. We look forward to the passage of this legislation and ask that you consider an amendment to include manslaughter convictions where the circumstances of the case warrant pension benefits being denied.

Thank you.

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