Depending on provincial or territorial victims’ rights legislation, surviving family members may have the right to information. Police officers may provide you with a list of your rights as a crime victim at the very beginning of the process.

However, it is up to you to ask the questions for which you want answers. Feel free to ask questions and to keep asking questions. The answer may be, “We can’t give you that information at this point in the investigation” or they may refer you to someone else, such as the medical examiner, for particular questions. The police cannot give you information that might prejudice the case or affect the safety of anyone. If the police will not answer your questions, they should also be willing to tell you why not.

Mennonite Central Committee Canada. (2011). Getting through the maze: A guidebook for survivors of homicide.