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Context: House Hansard - 329 - Jun/11/24

Ms. Pam Damoff (Oakville North—Burlington, Lib.)

Jun/11/24 2:10:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, gun violence is a public health issue that includes suicide, gender-based violence and gun crime. Last Friday was National Day Against Gun Violence. In 2022, I worked with the Toronto Raptors' John Wiggins to create a day that would honour those killed by gun violence and would commit to eliminate gun violence in all its forms. Last year, the Prime Minister declared the National Day Against Gun Violence would be observed in Canada on the first Friday in June. Last year, we joined the Toronto Raptors and many community organizations that advocate for community safety and anti-gun violence. This year, I hosted a round table with Halton MPs to hear from local organizations that are doing great work with youth in our community, with funding through the building safer communities fund. I was pleased to see MPs and community organizations across the country recognize the National Day Against Gun Violence with events raising awareness on the issue.

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Context: House Hansard - 329 - Jun/11/24

Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ)

Jun/11/24 2:28:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not really in the habit of listening to or reading the RCMP's suggestions. This time, the RCMP is saying that it does not have the tools it needs to deal with the threat that hate speech poses to security and social harmony. The RCMP does not have the tools it needs to do its job. The religious exemption in the Criminal Code enables people to engage in verbal abuse and openly invite violence, and obviously that is a valuable tool for people who do in fact want to incite violence. Will the Prime Minister agree to repeal the religious exemption from the Criminal Code?

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Context: House Hansard - 329 - Jun/11/24

Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Jun/11/24 6:24:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to speak on the issue of coercive control, something that I know jeopardizes the safety and well-being of countless women and gender-diverse people across Canada, an invisible violence that has been ignored for far too long. I really want to thank my colleague, the member for Victoria for tabling this important piece of legislation that seeks to alleviate the struggles of people who experience coercive control, the majority of whom are women and gender-diverse people. Coercive control includes different kinds of abusive behaviour like isolating individuals from family or friends, depriving them of basic needs, threatening to harm them or their children, and closely monitoring and and controlling their behaviour. It takes a significant toll on those who are victimized and deprives them of their charter right to be free from harassment and discrimination, and to live in dignity, which also includes violence against one's thoughts and spirit that impact their daily life and everything they do. I have often heard that when somebody is physically punched, we can see that abuse. With coercive control, it is difficult to see that abuse. The experience of people who have been victimized by coercive control has lasting impacts that are lifelong for many. It is critical that we address the issue of coercive control in light of the general rise of violence against women and gender-diverse folks across Canada, particularly targeted within rates of violence. We know that the highest rates reported are for indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals. Rates of domestic violence have increased by approximately 30% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while more than 50% of Canadian women over the age of 16 have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Again, statistics are significantly higher for indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals. It is particularly alarming that we see intimate partner violence leading to a rise in femicide. According to Stats Canada, between 2009 and 2022, 18% of solved homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner, with women most often being the victims. Because of rising violence, over 70 municipalities have declared gender-based violence an epidemic, something that the Minister of Justice affirmed in a letter to the Ontario coroner's office. I urge the current government to stop talking about a crisis of violence and actually take action to finally address it. Although this bill is a positive step, there have been some concerns raised about the bill, which I know that the member for Victoria has committed to trying to rectify, particularly from the National Association of Women and the Law, which comprises over 250 women's organizations. Particularly because we must do whatever is needed to end the epidemic of violence, we must also take evidence-based approaches to ensure that policies we put forward work best for empowering those who are victimized. Sometimes we do things for positive reasons, but they can indirectly cause harm. It is for this reason that I would like to express some of the concerns surrounding the coercive control legislation voiced by women's organizations and experts at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, including the National Association of Women and the Law, which, as I said, represents over 250 feminist organizations across Canada. While we all are deeply concerned by the rise in gender-based violence and intimate partner violence, organizations like NAWL have expressed concerns with the legal consequences that can arise for victims and survivors when we criminalize abusive behaviour without addressing the broader context of sexism in the legal system, primarily impacting Black people, indigenous people and people of colour. According to experts, less than a quarter of women and gender-diverse people who experience violence and abuse have enough faith that their accusation will be taken seriously to report it to the police. Instead, their encounters with the legal system mostly occur in the realm of family law, where issues of parenting are adjudicated. In this context, abusers use judicial violence to perpetuate abuse post-separation. Central to this violence is the pseudo-scientific concept of parental alienation: Women who report family violence are systematically suspected of being alienating, that is, trying to manipulate their children and destroy the father-child relationship. This occurs even when there are criminal charges, investigations or convictions based on a father's violence or abuse. On the so-called “parental alienation” theory, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls stated the following: “the discredited and unscientific pseudo-concept of parental alienation is used in family law proceedings by abusers as a tool to continue their abuse and coercion and to undermine and discredit allegations of domestic violence made by mothers who are trying to keep their children safe.” The concept of “parental alienation” serves as a tool to revictimize, discredit and silence victims of family violence, particularly mothers. When a mother makes an allegation of family violence or coercive control, she is suspected of trying to “alienate” her children. Accusations of parental alienation are primarily directed at women, especially victims of intimate partner violence. Legal experts tell us that a theory of parental alienation is used almost systematically when women report intimate partner violence, including coercive control, by abusers and their legal teams, yet judges and court officials across Canada usually believe these false accusations, or it is not uncommon for them to believe these false accusations, due to an inherent bias against believing women who report abuse. If we criminalize coercive control and tell victims to go and report violence without addressing the family law crisis, we might unknowingly be putting victims at risk. If mothers do report coercive control, they will be suspected of parental alienation and may risk losing their children. Some mothers are even advised by their own lawyers not to disclose domestic violence in family court due to the risk of being accused of parental alienation. Some women have said that if they had known in advance the consequences of parental alienation accusations, they never would have reported abuse or violence by an intimate partner. With this context in mind, we need a holistic approach to addressing coercive control, expanding beyond the realm of criminal law to encompass the nuances of family law. This includes, for example, prohibiting the pseudo-scientific concept of parental alienation in courts and ensuring that judges take seriously women's accusations of violence. Failure to do so risks leaving a large percentage of victims vulnerable to continued exploitation and manipulation. These factors are what we must consider when creating policies to address coercive control. It is absolutely imperative that solutions we propose to an issue as serious as this one do not contribute to the struggles of victims and further empower abusers. The bill proposed by the member for Victoria is a wonderful first step in the process of finally addressing coercive control. I look forward to working with her and other members in this House to also look at outside issues within family law, including parental alienation, to ensure that those fleeing violence are safe to do so without consequences.

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Context: House Hansard - 329 - Jun/11/24

Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

Jun/11/24 6:44:09 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-332

Madam Speaker, I am very proud to be standing in the House today to talk about Bill C-332. It is such an important bill because it talks about amending the Criminal Code around controlling and coercive conduct. I want to thank the member for Victoria for bringing this forward into the House. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, who brought forward a bill in the 43rd Parliament that is very much the same. This is an important bill because, when we look at any kind of intimate partner violence or gender-based violence, we need to make the world safer by saying that this is real and that it happens. One of the most concerning issues of our time has been an increase in domestic violence. Especially, during the pandemic, it rose in Canada by 50%. When people were in their homes trying to stay safe, all too often, they became far less safe. One challenge, of course, in addressing these issues is that there is nothing in place at this time about criminalizing coercive and controlling behaviour. This matters a lot. So often, it happens in little ways. There are these kinds of behaviours where a person is having a relationship or has a connection with someone and see little things that are done all the time. These things minimize a person's reality and control them so that they cannot have the freedom that they should have. It takes away a little part of the self. I remember working with people who had gone through some sort of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence. One thing they were clear about with me was that it was all these little things that kept happening. In the beginning, it just seemed as though, if a person just gave up a little piece of themselves, it would bring peace into the relationship. They thought everything would then be okay. Even if they felt uncomfortable with it, there was nowhere to go to say that the person they were with was now taking away all of their credit cards, would not let them have access to their own bank account or was telling them that they had to leave and come back at certain times. Even when they reported it, nothing could be done. There was no recognition of that behaviour, something that was actually leading to a very dangerous place. That is why I am so supportive of the bill: It is important that we start telling people that this is inappropriate behaviour. Before I took on my role as a politician, in my job as the executive director of the Immigrant Welcome Centre of North Vancouver Island, I remember working with a lot of newcomer women who had come to Canada through different avenues. They had been sponsored by a spouse or had come over as a caregiver. It was shocking how often that was taken advantage of. I remember one woman, in particular, who came into our office quite agitated and angry with Canadians. When we sat her down to talk about it, she told us the story of meeting a Canadian man in her home country. They fell in love, she married him, and she was then sponsored to come back to Canada to live with him. When she arrived in Canada, things slowly started to change with her husband; he was very clear that, in Canada, women did not have the same rights as men. Of course, we know that is not the case, but if one is a newcomer woman, one may not know this. She was very angry because, after she came to Canada, he had done things such as change the locks on the doors. He actually made it so that, when the doors closed in the house, they locked automatically. He did not give her a key. If she got caught outside, he would be very angry with her. We had to work really hard to get this woman into a safe place. When I look at this here, I can see very clearly that, if it had been criminalized in this place, we would have been able to move a lot faster with her. I hope that, as we do this, we remember the important part of teaching women and people who are in vulnerable groups that this is not okay behaviour. It is those small things. I have talked to so many people who have survived this behaviour. It teaches them not to trust themselves because their reality is rejected by the person they have this relationship with. When a person cannot trust themselves, it really leads to paths where they do not take care of themselves in the way that they should because they feel like they have done something wrong, and that is the most despicable part of this behaviour, as far as I am concerned. When we take away a human being's ability to trust themselves and to know what does and does not feel good for themselves, it is a terrible form of abuse that is often minimized. It often leads to violence, as those people do not have the ability to defend themselves because they have been picked at for so long that they no longer understand their own human rights. I am glad to have this bill put forward. We have to remember that this kind of behaviour is consistent with early warning signs of femicides, and we need to stop that. It is not only about the physical violence, although that is so important, but also about these small behaviours and these warning signs of aggressive behaviour and toxic relationships, which include coercive and controlling behaviour. In my riding, there are many spaces to help people flee violence, and I want to acknowledge all of them; they do incredible work. One that has always stayed close to my heart is the work done in Campbell River at the transition home. It has the beautiful history of Ann Elmore Haig-Brown. She was a woman who worked very hard in that area of Campbell River to make sure that women, largely, were protected. Even though she did not have an official safe house, she created one in her own home. She made sure that women and children fleeing abusive relationships were protected. She often kept them in her own home or in the cottages around her home. She was very quiet and discreet, and she never shared anyone's reality, but she kept them safe. I think that kind of work is so important. She started a pathway towards Campbell River being able to move forward to have its own transition home and to move on to the other services provided by the Ann Elmore transition house in Campbell River. When we look at the history of domestic abuse and of intimate-partner violence, we can see this path that has always been there. Women and children were fleeing violence and were not able to come forward to talk about inappropriate behaviour that is controlling. Because there was nothing there, the gaps just became wider. The other important thing is that it creates less trust in people who provide the supports, such as police or RCMP, for example. If a person cannot come in and get the help they need right away, it means they do not have trust in those systems, which makes it harder to ask for help later. Adding this is really going to allow police and RCMP to be able to take action much sooner than they are able to today. A big part of this should also include making sure that they get the training to understand what this behaviour looks like and how to call it into reality. I want to mention that this bill also includes a provision that would allow victims of coercive and controlling behaviour to be recognized by the legislation, even after the relationship has ended. This is really important because for so many people who go through this experience and who are able to get away, for one reason or another, when they look back at it, they can see the pattern that started so much earlier. It is important that this is there because it would allow people to really call on that. In our society, we have to make sure that people are held to account for the actions that they take, so this is important. It means that people are not silenced and that when they are ready to come forward and speak, this would be there for them. I want to thank everybody who works so hard to keep people safe. I think it is about time that we take that step forward to make sure that we are even safer and that the legislation is there to take action sooner.

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Context: House Hansard - 329 - Jun/11/24

Ms. Laurel Collins (Victoria, NDP)

Jun/11/24 6:54:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by thanking all of my colleagues who have been advocates on the issue, who have listened to survivors and their families and who are committed to ending gender-based violence and intimate partner violence. Over the past year, working on the bill, I have heard hundreds of stories from Canadians across the country about how coercive control has impacted their lives. Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour intended to isolate, manipulate, control and often terrorize one's partner, stripping away their autonomy and their self-worth. It is an insidious form of violence that often goes unnoticed and not talked about, until it escalates. Then it becomes something much more visible and much more tragic. It is one of the most common precursors to physical violence. Coercive control is so widespread, and there are so many stories. Today I want to talk a little bit about a few people who have travelled from Sault Ste. Marie. They are here in Ottawa tonight for the debate and for tomorrow's vote. Angie's Angels is a group that was formed a week after the murder of Angie Sweeney. Angie was a vibrant, loving person whose life was brutally cut short by femicide at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. Angie's ex-boyfriend used controlling tactics throughout their relationship, and when she left, the situation escalated violently. Her tragic story is all too common, and it is a stark reminder of the danger posed by intimate partner violence and coercive control. Angie's Angels is working to share Angie's story to raise awareness about intimate partner violence. It is are calling for stronger protections for victims and for survivors. Angie's parents, Brian and Suzanne, and her best friends, Amanda and Renee, have channelled their grief and pain into this amazing action. They want to make sure that no family and no community has to go through the pain that they have. Their bravery and their dedication in the face of such an unimaginable loss is nothing short of heroic. They have turned their horrific personal tragedy into a powerful force for change, and for that they deserve our utmost support and respect. Caitlin Jennings was someone who was a bright light to the people who knew her. Her father, Dan, connected with Angie's Angels after Caitlin was killed in London. Her life was also cut short when she became the victim of a coercive, controlling intimate partner. Dan has told me that if coercive control had been criminalized, Caitlin would still be here with us today. His words stuck with me, and I think they should stick with everyone in the chamber. We should all feel the urgency of tackling gender-based violence. A woman is killed every six days in Canada. Caitlin's story and Angie's story are not isolated incidents. They are part of a larger, systemic problem that we as legislators have the power to address. Passing the bill is one important step, but we must do so much more. When we vote on the bill, I want members to think about Angie and Caitlin, and to think of Angie's and Caitlin's loved ones who have dedicated their time and so much of their lives to preventing situations like theirs from happening. As legislators, we have a responsibility to stop this kind of abuse. I urge my colleagues to work with me to ensure that the bill makes its way rapidly through the red chamber and becomes law as quickly as possible. Let us pass the bill and take a crucial step towards a safer, more just society.

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