Victims Rights Bill
While going through the issues of Intimate Partner Violence my local Victims Services Agency sent me the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. Having taken the training myself as a volunteer for Victim’s Services I am very familiar with their purpose in helping victims of abuse. And so, when I read through the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights it brought me such comfort to think that our government actually understood how it felt to be a victim of violence and abuse and that it was there to help protect victims. We did have rights. However, given my own personal experience with the judicial system and in hearing the experiences of many other victims, I soon came to realize that this is not a Bill in the sense of being able to legally negotiate within it as a victim. Not only that, this is a Federal Government Bill. A victim of violence and abuse must be aware that each Provincial and Territorial government has its own Victims Bill of Rights which takes precedence over this Federal Bill. And so, as I set out to try and understand this ‘Bill” I consulted a lawyer for a better understanding of the Victims Rights Bill. It is as follows:
The Ontario and Federal Victims Bill of Rights are merely aspirational documents lacking teeth. They are a good starting point for recognizing the bare minimum rights of victims of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse. Still, they fall well short of protecting victims of violence and abuse. A law should provide a direct avenue for redress and remedy. Neither the Ontario nor Federal bills do that. In fact, the Ontario law states, “no new cause of action, right of appeal, claim or other remedy exists in law because of this… [Bill] or anything done or omitted to be done under this section”, and the Federal law states, “No cause of action or right to damages arises from an infringement or denial of a right under this Act.” In other words, if a victim’s rights are infringed or denied, that person cannot sue anyone or seek any remedy. The governments who enacted these laws purposefully prevented victims from seeking a remedy.
Jonah Arnold, B.H.K., LL.B, LL.M (cand.) jonah@HealthLawFirm.ca
Weinman, Arnold LLP, Lawyers
(416-640-0508) HealthLawFirm.ca
Once victims of Intimate Partner Violence make the decision to face the reality of their personal situation with a partner who is abusing them and they call 911 to report Domestic Violence and Abuse, one would think that the issue of IPV would be dealt with to some degree. Not so. First of all, the trauma associated with any form of abuse does not end, it continues. And in our exposure to the judicial system and the misleading of information from our governments, it basically revictimizes the victims of abuse. The police also are not overly helpful either in the issue of intimate Partner Violence, they and many male judges just do not fully understand the emotional impact of abuse. If they see physical evidence, they take that as evidence. Emotional abuse does not have a visual face. The experience of Cait Alexander, may allow for a greater awareness of this issue.
Cait Alexander, formerly of Ontario, now of California, is a victim/survivor of Intimate Partner Violence. On July 31, 2021, she suffered a near-death experience at the hands of her abuser, her former partner. She was able to crawl to her computer and send out an SOS to someone who responded to her emergency. Cait had been left for dead. In our present judicial system, the accused is allotted a certain number of days to appear before the court. If these days run past the allotted number of days, then the charge is often dismissed. This is caused,primarily, by the back-up of cases which are overloading our courts today. Thus, the man who assaulted Cait walked out a free man and he was only given the restriction of a Peace Bond. Why are the courts so backed-up these days? A question to be answered by our Federal and Provincial Governments.
Cait has since moved to Los Angeles, California as she no longer feels safe with the laws of Canada as they stand now with perpetrators of abuse. She has founded “End Violence Everywhere” (EVE) a registered charity which provides survivor to survivor support and hopefully, where needed, legislative change in making strides towards a more just and supportive system for all survivors of IPV. www.caitalexander.com and www.endviolenceeverywhere.com
On July 31, 2024 Cait Alexander was invited to speak before the Status of Womens Committee, of the Federal Government House of Commons as a witness in regard to Intimate Partner Violence. She flew to Ottawa from California to appear before the Status of Women’s Committee with the Federal Government. Her appearance was exactly three years to the day that she had been subjected to attempted murder by her former partner. Megan Walker, the second witness, spoke on the record number of women and children who have been killed every year with Intimate Partner Violence. Deputy Police Chief, Nick Milinovich of the Peel Region police was the third witness. When the meeting began, the chairperson informed the witnesses that they each had five minutes in which to speak. Five minutes. To describe the horror of Intimate Partner Violence. For Cait ,who had visual images of her injuries and who listed by name the many victims of Intimate Partner Violence whom she was familiar with, it was impossible to speak for just five minutes. She was cut off. The witnesses were then informed there would be a question and answer period. However, the meeting soon turned into nothing but a political fiasco. It was highjacked by one or two MP’s who tried to steer the meeting away from it’s purpose of Intimate Partner Violence to that of Women’s Abortion Rights. Now, there is no law which criminalizes or restricts abortion rights in Canada. Their actions were not only confusing but had no basis of reason for disrupting this meeting and negating the three witnesses who were invited to speak that day. They intentionally took the focus of the meeting away from it’s original purpose of Intimate Partner Violence. And the chairperson allowed it. See my letter to the editor of the Orangeville Citizen. Click here:
So, one may wonder what is the real purpose of the Status of Women’s Committee in Canada’s Federal Government. Does it have a purpose other than being a front for the Federal Government in saying,’ yes we care about womens rights, see we have even formed a special committee on this’. But does the government take any action beyond that in what happens to victims of abuse? Does the government pass the laws for judges and courts, the police, to act in regard to perpetrators of abuse? Does the government spend money educating those dealing with abuse and gender-based violence? Do the governments, Federal and Provincial spend money to keep the courts open and running, hiring the necessary judges so that the courts are not continually backlogged thus allowing perpetrators of abuse to go free. There are questions to be asked.
Frankly, it may appear that our governments do not wish to have its citizens know the real story behind the words they put forth in saying they care about Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Abuse. Abuse is abuse. It damages and impacts horribly on those who suffer at the hands of evil abusers. Are they being protected, by the police, by our governments? Not according to the victims of Intimate Partner Violence.
In conclusion, the Victim’s Rights Bill is not a bill in the sense of legally supporting the very people it is claiming to help. The Victim’s Bill of Rights means nothing more than a statement of Human Rights and is of no help whatsoever to victims of violence and abuse.