How to Make a Complaint to the Department of Justice Canada

The Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (CVBR) defines a victim as an individual who has suffered physical or emotional harm, economic loss or property damage as a result of a crime committed in Canada. All victims may exercise their rights under the CVBR while they are in Canada. Canadian citizens or permanent residents may exercise these rights even if they are outside of Canada, as long as the crime took place in Canada.

A victim may file a complaint if they are of the opinion that their rights under the CVBR have been infringed or denied (i.e. not respected) by a federal agency or department during their interaction with the Canadian criminal justice system. For example, a victim may be of the opinion that their right to information was not respected because the information they requested from a federal office was not provided and may decide to file a complaint through that federal office’s complaint process.

The criminal justice system refers to the particular processes involved in the investigation and prosecution of offences in Canada, the corrections and conditional release process in Canada, and the proceedings of Canadian courts and Review Boards in respect of accused who are found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder or unfit to stand trial.

The Department of Justice CVBR Complaints Policy

The Department of Justice CVBR Complaints Policy applies only to an alleged infringement or denial of rights provided under the CVBR by the Department of Justice Canada. The Department of Justice Canada is responsible for the following types of CVBR complaints:

If your complaint does not relate to one of the above, it may not be related to the Department of Justice CVBR Complaints Policy.

Where the complaint relates to another federal department's CVBR complaint mechanism, it may be forwarded to that department if the complainant has indicated their consent to share on the complaint form.

The following are not accepted as complaints under the policy:

Please note: Complaints must be made within ninety (90) days of the events giving rise to the complaint.

Step 1: Complaint Form

You will need to complete a complaint form to demonstrate that your complaint meets the basic criteria of the CVBR.

You will be asked to provide the following information in the form:

A written response will be sent to you within three (3) business days to acknowledge receipt of the completed complaint form.

Please note: Complaints will not be accepted if they are delivered in-person to the Department of Justice Canada for security reasons.

Complaint Form

Step 2: Determining If the Complaint Meets the Basic Criteria of the CVBR

If the complaint does not meet the basic criteria of the CVBR, a written response will be sent to you within three (3) business days of the receipt of the completed complaint form to inform you that your complaint does not meet the criteria to be treated as a formal CVBR complaint.

If your complaint meets the basic criteria of the CVBR, a written response will be sent to you within three (3) business days of the receipt of the completed complaint form to inform you that your complaint meets the criteria to be treated as a formal CVBR complaint.

Step 3: Complaint Review Process

If your complaint meets the criteria to be treated as a formal CVBR complaint, it will enter the following complaint review process:

The Department of Justice Canada may contact you to obtain further details of the events giving rise to the complaint, if necessary.

Remedies

Remedies may include, but are not limited to:

Withdrawal of complaint

At any time, you can withdraw your complaint by giving written notice to the PCVI.

Step 4: Requesting Additional Review

If you are not satisfied with the response of the SADM Policy Sector, you may request that the complaint be reviewed by the Deputy Minister of Justice (DM).

The Ombudsperson may be able to make recommendations to the Department about your complaint or the complaint process, provide you with information, or refer you to victim services.

Extension of time for investigation

The Department of Justice Canada may extend the time by additional periods of five (5) business days as necessary for the DG or equivalent, the SADM Policy Sector or the DM to complete the investigation. The reasons for extending the response time may include, but are not limited to:

A written notice will be sent to you stating the reason for this extension. These extensions will only be used in exceptional circumstances.

Privacy

The Department of Justice Canada will protect the privacy of all complainants and employees named in a complaint in accordance with the Privacy Act. For more information, please see http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/terms-avis/index.html.

Contact Us

Mailing Address
Department of Justice Canada
Policy Centre for Victim Issues
284 Wellington Street,
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0H8
Email Address
VictimsRights@justice.gc.ca
Droitsdesvictimes@justice.gc.ca
Fax number
613-952-1110