|
|
|
|
Grants Awarded Under Civil Remedies ActMore Than Three Quarters of a Million Dollars to Assist Victims of Unlawful Activity Grants under the Remedies for Organized Crime and Other Unlawful Activities Act (Civil Remedies Act) are being awarded to 10 police services to assist victims of unlawful activity, Attorney General Michael Bryant announced. "We are taking money forfeited from the proceeds and instruments of unlawful activity and using it to assist victims and prevent unlawful activities that result in victimization," said Bryant. "Nine municipal police services and the Ontario Provincial Police joint forces unit will use the money to support this initiative." Grants totalling $763,000 have been awarded to Brockville, Chatham-Kent, Ottawa, Oxford Community, Peel Regional, Timmins, Waterloo Regional, West Grey, and York Regional Police Services, as well as the Ontario Provincial Police. Significant grants include $300,000 to York Regional Police to speed up the process of checking fingerprints of community volunteers who work with children and vulnerable people, and $105,000 to Peel Regional Police to expand the parameters of the Peel Police Internet Child Exploitation Unit. "The whole community will benefit from a law that puts money back into the hands of victims or into programs that will prevent victimization," said York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge. "The grant we are receiving will help to upgrade our finger-printing identification system and allow for more accurate and better security checks for community volunteers such as coaches and Scout leaders who work with children and other vulnerable people in our community." "This grant will greatly assist us in combating child pornography by expanding the parameters of the Peel Police Internet Child Exploitation Unit," said Peel Regional Police Chief Mike Metcalf. "We are extremely gratified that the attorney general is utilizing the Civil Remedies Act to support us in our efforts to prevent victimization." The Civil Remedies Act authorizes the attorney general to ask civil courts to freeze, seize and forfeit the proceeds and instruments of unlawful activity to the Crown. Civil asset forfeiture focuses solely on the connection between property and unlawful activity and is not dependent on any criminal charges or convictions. The legislation allows the Crown to recover property acquired through unlawful activity, to prevent property from being used to engage in further unlawful activities, and to compensate victims. Forfeited property is liquidated and deposited into a special purpose account. The act enables direct victims, municipal corporations and designated institutions to submit a claim for compensation against the forfeited assets. Remaining funds may be disbursed for grants to designated institutions to support programs and initiatives that assist victims of unlawful activity, or prevent unlawful activities that result in victimization.
BackgrounderCIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE The Remedies for Organized Crime and Other Unlawful Activities Act (Civil Remedies Act) enables the attorney general to ask the court for a civil order forfeiting the proceeds or instruments of unlawful activity to the Crown. A proceed is property acquired as a result of unlawful activity. An instrument is property that is likely to be used to engage in unlawful activity. The law permits a court, at the request of the Attorney General, to freeze, seize and forfeit to the Crown any type of property that is determined to be a proceed or an instrument of unlawful activity. Unlawful activity is not limited to activities covered by the Criminal Code. For example, it could include contraventions of other federal and provincial laws. Under the legislation, the court can grant an interim order to freeze property pending the outcome of the forfeiture proceeding. Civil Remedies for Illicit Activities Office (CRIA) lawyers go to court and, if they can prove that the property in question is a proceed or instrument of unlawful activity, the court can issue orders forfeiting the assets to the Crown. In addition to forfeiture provisions, the act allows the court to grant an order for damages or any order necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of injury to the public, where the court finds a conspiracy to engage in unlawful activity that has or likely will cause injury to the public. Civil asset forfeiture proceedings begin when a designated institution, such as a police service or government ministry, submits a case to the reviewing authority, an independent Crown counsel in the Ministry of the Attorney General. That counsel decides whether the statutory criteria in the Civil Remedies Act has been met. Once that is confirmed, the case information is forwarded to the ministry's CRIA office, which is responsible for enforcing the act. Civil asset forfeiture focuses solely on the connection between property and unlawful activity, and is not dependant on any criminal charges or convictions. The standard of proof required for civil forfeiture is the same as it is in all civil court actions - a balance of probabilities. Ontario's CRIA office is recognized nationally and internationally for its precedent-setting work. CRIA has successfully argued and forfeited assets on 61 cases to date. Since November 2003, the province has collected on forfeitures totalling $2.6 million in assets. The province currently has $8.7 million in assets frozen under this act. Distribution of Compensation and Grants to Assist Victims and Prevent Victimization Forfeited assets are converted to cash and deposited into a special purpose account. The Civil Remedies Act enables direct victims of the unlawful activity, municipal corporations and prescribed public bodies to submit a claim for compensation against the money in the special purpose account. On January 16, 2007, the first allotment of compensation money for victims ($300,000) was distributed to direct victims as compensation. In the coming months additional compensation is expected to be distributed to eligible victims. The legislation also allows for a grant program for distribution of funds remaining after victim compensation and cost recovery by the Crown. The purpose of the grant program is to support programs and initiatives that assist victims of unlawful activity, and enhance the ability of designated institutions and prescribed public bodies to prevent unlawful activities that result in victimization. In order to be considered for a grant, those designated institutions must meet the established criteria and include a project proposal outlining how the grant will assist victims of unlawful activities or prevent unlawful activities that result in victimization. All applications are screened and assessed by the approval committee, which include members from the Civil Remedies for Illicit Activities office, the Ministry of the Attorney General, and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. The attorney general continues to consult with stakeholders in this process. A total of $763,000 in grants is being awarded to 10 police services across Ontario including:
|
|||||||||
 |
