The chart depicting the rate of domestic violence in Canada from 2009 to 2022 is shaped like a very gentle U. Its lowest point? Somewhere around 2014 to 2016. It’s a problem that’s proven difficult to talk about in Ottawa.
An attempt was made on the last day of July, when the House of Commons Status of Women committee chair, Shelby Kramp-Neuman, convened a meeting on the issue — only for it to end in a meltdown. Kramp-Neuman, a Conservative, had called three witnesses to speak on the matter of violence against women, only to be shut down by Liberal and NDP committee members angered by the ethnic and gender composition of those present, and insisted on discussing abortion instead.
Though tiresome and ugly, the exchange was a perfect synecdoche for the formula that Canadian justice policymakers have used for the past eight years: ignore the actual plight of women, decry any attempt to improve the situation as an attack on various narrow identity groups and, of course, utter the word “abortion” in generous quantities.
The committee witnesses, at least, were able to make part of their case before procedural chaos descended on the room.
Cait Alexander, a domestic violence survivor whose ex-boyfriend was accused of attempted murder, only to have his charges dropped for running over Canada’s 18-month trial deadline, held up photos of her horribly bruised body as she recounted the experience. Then she told the stories of others, robbed of justice, whose perpetrators — abusers, rapists, killers — enjoyed soft bail conditions, repeated releases and light sentences.
Another witness, Megan Walker, was a women’s advocate for 30 years. She told the story of Tiffany Gates, a London woman whose murder-suicide at the hands of Christopher Charlton was kept in the dark by police at the behest of privacy legislation, and Breanna Broadfoot, a London teen who was killed by her 18-year-old boyfriend. Broadfoot’s boyfriend was on a no-contact order for a previous attack on her. (Police claimed they could not release his identity and asked the family to keep quiet, though court documents identified the man as one Kuhkpaw Moo.)
After some 30 minutes of testimony and limited questioning, MPs began interjecting. Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld moved to resume debate on abortion rights (Vandenbeld later took to National Newswatch to lament that “parliamentary institutions are being deliberately dismantled” by “far-right” political traps), and NDP MP Leah Gazan complained that she’d been unable to call witnesses for that particular meeting.
Alexander and Walker turned their backs, and eventually, left. Afterward, they requested an apology for their treatment.
“Here I am, literally baring my soul, holding up naked photos of my black and blue bloodied body,” Alexander told me in an interview Wednesday. “And two people who are supposed to be stand-up women and representatives of the country, (whose) job is to advocate for better, are silencing, further abusing, manipulating, emotionally gaslighting, literally using abusive tactics for their political agenda.”
Speaking to me, also on Wednesday, Walker described the environment as “hostile,” particularly due to the conduct of the Liberal and NDP members.
“I was trying to talk about the record of women killed. There have been 840 women killed … since 2019. It’s a huge number of women; this is a crisis. It needs to be addressed. We need to name it as an epidemic. But all of that was lost,” she said. She felt the committee was being inappropriately made to choose between the murder of women and abortion.
“Women should never be in a place where they have to choose which situation is worse, when all situations of violence are really bad for women.”
Each woman had their own requests for Parliament, but the gist is this: Canada’s justice system regularly fails women and victims of abuse, and urgent change is needed.
So many no-brainer changes could be made to the law. Ridiculous privacy legislation that protects the names of those who commit murder-suicides should be changed. Bail shouldn’t be generously handed out to serial abusers and especially serial breachers. Woman-beaters should be sentenced appropriately. These have been problems in Canada since before 2015, but it’s troubling that the rise in domestic violence hasn’t been an impetus for change.
Under the current government’s watch, new changes have only made matters worse. The Supreme Court decided in 2022 that it was unconstitutional to automatically list all sex offenders in the national sex offender registry — and the Liberals updated the law accordingly. Now, only repeat sex offenders and “serious” child sex offenders will have to be added; for every other rapist, it’ll be up to the judges to decide.
Meanwhile, the behemoth that is sexual assault law has only become more complicated as courts and Parliament tack on procedural additions. Because of Canada’s 18-month trial deadline, well-intentioned additions to the law often paradoxically work against justice.
Meanwhile, the Liberals preside over the justice system with a gentle hand. Concerns about systemic discrimination and the demographic composition of the prison population seem to be higher priorities than simply keeping dangerous people off the streets. In addition to that, Canadian courts sometimes grant sentencing discounts to non-citizens, including those accused of sex crimes, to help lower their chances of deportation.
When it comes to domestic violence, these changes have made matters worse. A rapist with a sad enough personal story can convince a judge not to put him on the sex offender registry. Men accused of sexual assault enjoy court delays that close outtheir cases before a verdict can be given. And those who were born into sentencing-discount-eligible groups can continue to re-traumatize women in their community once they’re out of jail.
Alas, the majority of the Status of Women committee was more interested in abortion.
Both Alexander and Walker have worked with politicians of any stripe. Indeed, Alexander’s advocacy has had her working alongside the NDP on issues in the past (though she was called to committee most recently by the Conservatives); Walker even ran for the NDP years ago. They’re frustrated about the plight of women — not for partisan reasons, but for lack-of-progress reasons.
“The Trudeau government has caused great harm to women and girls by their philosophies, which are not universally accepted by a community, because so many members of communities, so many community members have been wronged by the justice system, which has led them to further difficulties and further harm,” Walker said.
With any hope, the matter can be returned to in a future meeting — one in which others, not just Conservatives, call witnesses and participate fully. Indeed, that was the request of Alexander and Walker in a post-committee open letter: recall the committee, schedule future meetings and get ready to talk about implementation.
National Post