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How
to apply | Wrongful convictions
: Prosecutor's Report 2005 |
MINISTER OF JUSTICE APPOINTS
SPECIAL ADVISOR
TO OVERSEE CRIMINAL CONVICTION REVIEWS
OTTAWA, November 20, 2003
- The Honourable Martin
Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada,
today announced the appointment Mr. Bernard Grenier as Special
Advisor on the criminal conviction-review process.
"Criminal conviction review
is an important safeguard to protect those Canadians who may
have experienced potential miscarriages of justice," said
Minister Cauchon. "The Special Advisor will help ensure
the process is both fair and transparent."
Section 696.1 (formerly s.
690) of the Criminal Code provides that a person who has
been convicted of an offence and who has exhausted all appeals
may apply to the Minister of Justice for a review of his or her
conviction.
Mr. Grenier will oversee the
review of applications and advise the Minister of Justice directly
on matters related to the criminal conviction-review process.
Mr. Grenier is a retired judge
of the Court of Quebec, where he served from 1980 to 2002. He
received a Bachelor of Law from the University of Montreal in
1966 and was admitted to the Bar of Quebec in 1967.
Since 2002, Mr. Grenier has
been a partner and counsel at a law firm in Montreal. During
his career, he has also served as Assistant and Acting Director
General of the National Judicial Institute, President of the
Quebec Society of Criminology and has taught law at the University
of Montreal, McGill University and the Quebec Bar Association
Admission School. He has provided his assistance to various organizations,
including the Law Reform Commission of Canada, the Canadian Association
of Provincial Court Judges, the Canadian Section of International
Commission of Jurists and the Tribunal des professions in
Quebec.
"Mr. Grenier has a wealth
of experience in criminal law," added Minister Cauchon.
"I am pleased to announce he will be the first to assume
this important position."
Prior to the Special Advisor
appointment, several other steps were taken by the Government
of Canada to enhance the conviction review process. As a result
of November 2002 amendments to the Criminal Code , Department
of Justice investigators can now compel witnesses to provide
information during a conviction review. Equally important are
new regulations that outline for applicants exactly what is required
for a review, helping to ensure that a file is complete as soon
as possible and allowing investigators to begin their work earlier.
The Criminal Code amendments
also created a legal requirement for the Minister to submit an
annual report to Parliament. The first report was tabled in September
2003 and covers the period starting from when the amendments
came into force, November 25, 2002, through to March 31, 2003.
A new Department of Justice Web site ( http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/ccr/index.html
) offers an online version of this report, as well as additional
information on the conviction-review process.
- 30 -
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