Every little thing reminds Monique Dalcourt of her daughter Jenique.
“Every time she would go to work we would hug and kiss,” she said.
It’s been almost a year since Dalcourt hugged and kissed her daughter Jenique goodbye – last October, she was attacked and killed on a dimly lit bike path in Longueuil.
For her mother, life has become harder to live.
“She had a very very big heart, and she loved people,” she said.
Dalcourt has trouble sleeping, she can no longer work and can no longer afford to see a therapist.
But under Quebec law she is not considered a victim because she wasn't at the scene, so she only qualifies for 30 sessions of therapy.
She decided to do something about it and has posted a petition online to get the province to change the law.
Dalcourt is calling for parents whose children were murdered to be considered victims automatically so they can get the support they need, including being reimbursed for not being able to work as a result of the child's death.
“How many parents go through hell and are not helped? Now that I realize all the pain they are going through and how disabling it is. If we can at least change the law it would help a lot of parents,” Dalcourt said.
Joining her in her fight is lawyer and former justice minister Marc Bellemare. He says parents aren't just victims of crime, but victims of the system too.
“The parents live the whole thing. Even if they are not there, they suffer enough to be considered as a victim because they live a shock, a mental shock,” he said.
Quebec's justice ministry says it is in the process of revising its compensation program.
In the meantime, Dalcourt is bracing herself for the one-year anniversary of her daughter's death, and the vigil family and friends plan to hold in her memory.
