Minister of Justice Ministre de la Justice

and Attorney General of Canada et procureur général du Canada

The Honourable / L’honorable Arif Virani, P.C., M.P. / c.p., député

Ottawa, Canada K1A 0H8

May 8, 2024

The Honourable John Hogan, K.C., M.L.A.

Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

(by email)

Dear Minister:

Thank you for your correspondence of March 13, 2024, concerning intimate partner
violence (IPV).

Our government has always seen gender-based violence as a serious issue, and we remain
committed to ending gender-based violence in all its forms. I share your sentiment that
more must be done to protect victims of IPV until gender-based violence has been
eradicated. This is why we have recognized that there is a gender-based violence
epidemic.

As you know, the Criminal Code currently imposes a reverse onus at bail for anyone who
is charged with an offence involving IPV and who has a past conviction for such an
offence. This reverse onus was recently expanded by former Bill C-48, An Act to amend
the Criminal Code (bail reform), which came into force on January 4, 2024. This
legislation broadened the reverse onus to ensure that it also applies to accused persons
who have been previously discharged of an offence involving IPV. These changes are
intended to make it more difficult for an accused person to get bail where a pattern of
violence against an intimate partner is being alleged.

In addition, our government supported Private Member’s Bill C-233, An Act to amend the
Criminal Code and the Judges Act (violence against an intimate partner), which came
into force on May 27, 2023. This legislation requires bail courts to consider whether an
accused person who is charged with an offence involving the use, threat, or attempt of
violence against an intimate partner should wear an electronic monitoring device as a
condition of bail release, when requested by the Attorney General. The legislation also
amended the Judges Act by adding intimate partner violence and coercive control to the
list of continuing education seminars for judges that the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC)
may establish, and urges the CJC to report on such seminars.
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Despite this progress, I acknowledge that there is more that can be done to protect victims
of IPV at the bail stage of criminal proceedings. With this in mind, I have shared your
recommended Criminal Code amendments with departmental officials to ensure that they
are given due consideration.

Moreover, on March 18, 2024, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice
and Human Rights adopted Government amendments to Private Member’s Bill C-332,
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (coercive control of intimate partner). As amended,
the Bill would create a coercive control offence that would prohibit engaging in a pattern
of conduct with intent to cause the accused’s intimate partner to believe that their
physical or psychological safety is threatened, or being reckless as to whether their
pattern of conduct could have that effect. These amendments were heavily informed by
ongoing work at the federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) level; input from the
fall 2023 engagement process with stakeholders, led by the Department of Justice Canada
in close collaboration with provincial and territorial partners; coercive control criminal
offences enacted in other countries; and relevant Canadian criminal law. Our government
is carefully monitoring Bill C-332’s progress as it makes its way through Parliament.

FPT officials are also reviewing the criminal harassment offence to ensure that it is as
responsive as possible to modern manifestations of harassing behaviour, consistent with a
resolution by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada in 2022 (https://www.ulcc-
chlc.ca/ULCC/media/Criminal-Section/Criminal-Section-Resolutions-2022.pdf).
Criminal harassment and coercive control offences are both perpetrated through a pattern
of conduct that negatively impacts those who are subjected to it, including in the context
of intimate relationships.

Our government has made additional legislative changes to support and protect victims of
gender-based violence, including sexual violence and IPV:

• An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice Act and to make
consequential amendments to another Act (former Bill C-51), which came into force
on December 13, 2018, and clarified and strengthened Canada’s sexual assault laws
relating to consent, admissibility of evidence, and legal representation for
complainants.
• An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other Acts
and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (former Bill C-75), which
strengthened criminal laws and enhanced victim safety in the context of IPV,
including by clarifying the definition of “intimate partner” in the Criminal Code and
ensuring that strangulation constitutes a more serious form of assault.
• An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (former Bill C-3), which
came into force on May 6, 2021, and requires participation in training on matters
related to sexual assault law and social context to be eligible to become a superior
court judge in a province.

Moreover, our government is supporting Bill S-205, An Act to amend the Criminal Code
and to make consequential amendments to another Act (interim release and domestic
violence recognizance orders). This bill would create a new peace bond focused on
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preventing domestic violence where there is a fear that an intimate partner will commit an
offence that will cause personal injury to their partner or to either partner’s child. While a
peace bond under section 810 may be for a maximum of one year, the proposed new
peace bond could be extended to two years if the defendant has a previous conviction for
IPV or violence against their child or the child of a former or current partner. The Bill
was passed by the Senate in April 2023 and is currently awaiting third reading debate in
the House of Commons.

In November 2022, the FPT ministers responsible for the Status of Women launched the
National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence (https://femmes-egalite-
genres.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence/intergovernmental-
collaboration/national-action-plan-end-gender-based-violence.html). The National
Action Plan was informed by more than 1,000 recommendations collected over years of
engagement with Indigenous partners and a wide range of stakeholders, including
victims, survivors, front-line service providers, community leaders, experts, academics,
and civil society. This 10-year plan is a strategic framework for action to support victims,
survivors, and their families no matter where they live. Budget 2022 provided
$539.3 million over five years in funding, including $525 million to support the
provinces and territories in their efforts to implement the National Action Plan.

Furthermore, our government has worked with the provinces and territories to establish
bilateral funding agreements. As of December 2023, bilateral agreements have been
announced in all 13 jurisdictions. These agreements are flexible and support jurisdictions
in addressing their respective challenges, needs, and individual priorities under five
pillars that guide cross-country efforts to end gender-based violence: support for victims,
survivors, and their families; prevention; responsive justice system; Indigenous-led
approaches; and social infrastructure and enabling environment. Additional information
on these agreements can be found on the Women and Gender Equality Canada website
(https://femmes-egalite-genres.canada.ca/en/gender-based-
violence/intergovernmental-collaboration/bilateral-agreements.html).

Responsibility for the implementation of the National Action Plan rests with my
colleague the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and
Youth. Therefore, I have forwarded a copy of your correspondence to her for information
and consideration.

Our government is pursuing a comprehensive approach to address firearms-related

violence. To that end, An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential
amendments (firearms) (former Bill C-21), which received Royal Assent on
December 15, 2023, addresses IPV, gender-based violence, and self-harm involving
firearms through the implementation of a new red flag law. Red flag laws enable any
individual to seek a court order to temporarily remove firearms from the possession of a
firearms license holder, in circumstances where the licensee poses a danger to themselves
or others. The Act requires Chief Firearms Officers to revoke a firearms license within
24 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the licensee may have
engaged in an act of domestic violence or stalking. Moreover, under the Act, any
individual who is subject to a protection order or has been convicted of an offence in
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which violence was used, threatened, or attempted against their intimate partner or any
member of their family is ineligible to hold a firearms licence.

As responsibility for firearms policy rests with my colleague the Honourable

Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, I have forwarded a copy of your
correspondence to him so that he may also be aware of your concerns.

I look forward to continuing to work together on our shared commitment to ending IPV
and gender-based violence.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,

The Honourable Arif Virani, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

c.c.: The Honourable Marci Ien, P.C., M.P.

Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., K.C., M.P.

Minister of Public Safety