Victims of crime will be able to call in to parole hearings in Canada and present victim impact statements for Parole Board of Canada (PBC) members to consider in their decision-making amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement was made in a series of tweets Wednesday afternoon. It marked a change from what the PBC previously told Global News just a day prior. “The PBC is committed to fulfilling its important public safety mandate amid the unprecedented challenged posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the inclusion of victims in its parole hearings,” one of the tweets read.
The news comes just days before the parole hearing for imprisoned impaired driver Marco Muzzo, who killed three children and their grandfather, in September 2015.