SECU Committee Report

Relocating witnesses and creating new identities for them are extreme, complex and onerous protective measures. Admission to the federal Witness Protection Program must thus remain a protective measure of last resort. The WPPA provides that alternative measures for protecting witnesses must be considered before they are admitted to the Program: we find this entirely appropriate. At the same time, we want to reiterate that all witness protective measures, whether at the municipal, provincial, territorial or federal levels, play an essential role in the fight against crime and the maintenance of the rule of law. The Committee has every hope that the implementation of this report’s recommendations will make it possible to correct a number of the weaknesses in the federal Witness Protection Program that were brought to our attention.