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REGINA – The Government of Canada this week announced $1.8 million in funding to support victims of crime in Saskatchewan. The announcement was made by the Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and the Honourable Don Morgan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Saskatchewan.

“Our Government is committed to providing victims of crime, especially young victims, with the services and support they require,” said Minister Nicholson. “We will continue to ensure that resources and programs are in place to better respond to the needs of victims of crime in Saskatchewan and across Canada.”

The funding aims to improve programs and services to residents of Saskatchewan, particularly children, who have been victims of crime. Specifically, the funding will:

-- Make it easier and less stressful for children to provide full and candid testimony in criminal court proceedings. This includes doing so from outside the courtroom or through witness screens;

-- Give families of missing persons, including the families of murdered and missing Aboriginal women, easier access to specialized support and services;

-- Provide consistent, responsive, timely, and culturally sensitive support services to victims of crime and traumatic events in northern Saskatchewan; and,

ensure victims services workers have access to the training/learning resources they need and opportunities to collaborate with colleagues to share best practices.

“We thank the federal government for their ongoing commitment to victims of crime programs in Saskatchewan,” said Minister Morgan. “The dedicated people who run these programs support victims from the time a crime is committed and throughout the court process. Too often, in the past, victims' needs have been left behind in the criminal justice system and these programs go a long way to correcting that.”

The funding was made available through the Victims Fund, a grants and contributions program administered by the Department of Justice Canada. The Fund currently has $10.2 million a year available to give victims of crime a more effective voice in the criminal justice system.