Will victims have the right to seek restitution?


Yes. You will have the right to have the court consider ordering the offender to pay for any financial losses that you incurred as a result of the offence and to have any unpaid amount enforced through a civil court.

What does restitution mean?

the restoration (or return) of something lost or stolen to its proper owner.

A judge can order restitution for financial losses related to:

  • Damaged or lost property due to the crime;

  • Physical injury or psychological harm due to the crime;

  • Physical injury due to the arrest or attempted arrest of the offender;

  • Costs for temporary housing, moving, food, childcare and transportation due to a spouse, common-law partner or child moving out of the offender's household (this only applies if a victim has moved because they had been physically harmed or threatened with physical harm due to the offence, arrest, or attempted arrest of the offender); and/or,

  • Costs that victims of identity theft had to pay to re-establish their identity, or to correct their credit history and their credit rating.

CSC does not have the authority to enforce a restitution order. If a restitution order is not paid, you can have the order entered as a civil court judgment which can be obtained at a provincial court house.


This information was gathered directly from Correctional Service Canada. For more information, please visit https://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/victims/003006-1003-eng.shtml


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