New Democrat MP Laurel Collins says she began paying close attention to the issue of coercive control when her sister showed up at her door in tears.
The member of Parliament from Victoria says her sister91裸聊视频檚 partner had taken away her keys, bank cards and cellphone, and tried preventing her from leaving.
91裸聊视频淟uckily, she had another set of keys,91裸聊视频� Collins told reporters.
91裸聊视频淣ow, that was the first time I saw it, but over the next few years, it happened again and again and again.91裸聊视频�
Collins shared some of her sister91裸聊视频檚 story during a Thursday press conference on Parliament Hill, as she called on MPs to support her private member91裸聊视频檚 bill seeking to criminalize a pattern of behaviour known as coercive control.
During a debate about the bill that evening, the governing Liberals and Opposition Conservatives had both offered it their backing 91裸聊视频� though some raised concerns about how it would be implemented.
Experts have defined coercive control as a set of behaviours an abuser uses to cause fear and isolate a victim from friends and family. Examples include controlling someone91裸聊视频檚 access to money or monitoring and restricting their movements.
Collins91裸聊视频� bill does not define what controlling or coercive conduct is, but seeks to amend the Criminal Code to make it an offence in caseswhere it is 91裸聊视频渆xpected to have a significant impact on that person.91裸聊视频�
That could include making someone fear that violence could be used against them, forcing them to change their communication with others or causing them to be absent from work or school.
While the term may be new, Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri said in the House, most know what it looks like.
One of her friends had an experience in which she and her kids were 91裸聊视频渉ostages in their own home,91裸聊视频� Ferreri told MPs.
91裸聊视频淚 remember being on the phone with her many times, and she said, 91裸聊视频榃ell, he91裸聊视频檚 not hitting me, so it91裸聊视频檚 not that bad,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� she recalled.
91裸聊视频淚 said, 91裸聊视频極K, but you don91裸聊视频檛 have any money in your bank, you91裸聊视频檙e not allowed to go where you want to go, you don91裸聊视频檛 have your own phone and you91裸聊视频檙e afraid to leave your house. That91裸聊视频檚 abuse.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
Lisa Hepfner, who serves as the parliamentary sectary for Women and Gender Equality Minister Marci Ien, told the House on behalf of the Liberal government that she is proud to support the bill.
But she suggested it needed to be looked at carefully, considering issues in other jurisdictions, such as England and Scotland, where such an offence exists.
91裸聊视频淕athering evidence in these cases is a significant challenge for police and prosecutors,91裸聊视频� she said.
Collins acknowledged that training would need to happen for judges, prosecutors and others in the justice system.
The NDP bill provides for the possibility that ex-partners can engage in coercive behaviours, and would allow charges to be brought against abusers in the two years following the end of a relationship.
Collins said earlier in the day that this reflects evidence that shows the end of a relationship is when victims of domestic violence face the greatest risk of danger.
This is the second time in recent years that the federal NDP has brought forward such legislation.
Randall Garrison, a British Columbia MP, brought forward his own bill on the matter two years ago. Collins said her legislation builds on his work.
That initial effort came as shelters and front-line workers reported an uptick in domestic abuse as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, when public-health bodies imposed widespread lockdowns to try and prevent the virus from spreading.
In April 2021, a parliamentary committee conducted a deep dive into the issue.
Its final report said that it heard Canada91裸聊视频檚 existing laws do not adequately capture the controlling behaviour that experts say often precedes more-serious acts of physical violence.
Among its recommendations was for Ottawa to review existing criminal law and consider drafting legislation directed at coercive control. Hepfner said Thursday that justice officials were already working on that with provinces.
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police says it has repeatedly advocated for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 government to create new offences specifically targeted at coercive control.
In a statement on Thursday, the association said current laws used to prosecute cases of domestic violence deal with physical altercations and specific incidents, and do not allow police to intervene in cases where 91裸聊视频渃learly coercive behaviour91裸聊视频� is present.
Collins said advocates who support women dealing with domestic violence have called such legislation a 91裸聊视频渃rucial91裸聊视频� step.
Federal statistics from 2018 show that 44 per cent of women who have been in relationships reported experiencing some form of abuse from a partner.
Canada already has a provision under the Divorce Act that says a court should factor in family violence, including 91裸聊视频渃oercive and controlling behaviour,91裸聊视频� when it comes to issuing contact orders around children.
Justice Minister Arif Virani expressed an openness to criminalizing coercive control in a letter he pennedin August to Ontario91裸聊视频檚 chief coroner, following an inquest into the 2015 slaying of three women in the Renfrew County area.
That September, Carol Culleton, Nathalie Warmerdam and Anastasia Kuzyk all died at the hands of Basil Borutski, who had a criminal history of violence against women.
The final report from the Mass Casualty Commission, which probed the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting that left 22 people dead, also recommended that more action be taken to deal with coercive control.
It heard from at least one domestic violence expert who said the shooter subjected his spouse to controlling and intimidating tactics for years before he went on a deadly rampage in April 2020.
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