Madam Speaker, I am rising to join tonight's debate on Bill S-205, a Senate public bill that is now before the House after a very long journey. It has gone through the Senate, and it is now before us for report stage and third reading. I believe we will come to the consequential votes of this particular bill tomorrow. Recently, of course, it has gone through six meetings at the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women. It finds itself here via former senator Pierre‑Hugues Boisvenu and is now being sponsored here in the House by the member for Kildonan—St. Paul.
I also want to recognize another member, my NDP colleague the member for Winnipeg Centre, who is a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. Not only in her own riding but indeed right across this country, she has been a stalwart champion for women and for raising these particular issues. I know that our entire caucus is extremely proud of the work she does on this issue every day. We are certainly very grateful for the work she did as our caucus member of that standing committee so the House could consider the committee's work on the bill that is before us today.
Intimate partner violence is absolutely a national crisis, and we know that the statistics outline that in very stark ways. We know that about every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner. That statistic is very troubling to me personally, being a father of three daughters.
We know that globally, before COVID, one in three women experienced some form of intimate partner violence. We know that the rates are highest in households that are low-income and indigenous. There has been a surge in recent years in gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence. We know that the number of cases for women and girls in Canada involving a male accused increased by 27% in 2022 compared to before the pandemic in 2019. We know that in recognition of the massive surge of violence, the aforementioned Standing Committee on the Status of Women just recently undertook a study into this very important and concerning issue.
We know that the situation is dire. In several Canadian cities, places like Ottawa, where the House of Commons is located; Toronto; and Kitchener, this is recognized as an epidemic.
There is a role, of course, for us as federal legislators and for the federal government. We have jurisdiction over how the Criminal Code is structured, and indeed the bill before us has some important amendments to it. We cannot alone legislate ourselves out of the problem. It is worth repeating here, as many of my colleagues have consistently done, that the current Liberal government has implemented only two of the 231 calls for justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
In my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, there is a relatively high indigenous population. From speaking with many female indigenous members of my community, I know that this is a particularly galling statistic and one that they take great issue with. They feel that they are not being seen and that their personal circumstances are not rating high enough for the government's attention.
I also want to take some time to recognize the organizations that are working on the ground in Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. There is the Cowichan Women Against Violence Society, which works from a feminist perspective to provide a supportive environment primarily to women and children who have been impacted by violence. It is there to support diversity, change, choice and growth through counselling, advocacy, emergency shelter services, community development and education. There is also the Victoria Women's Transition House, which has been supporting and advocating for women since 1974. That organization is active in the southern part of my riding, in the great city of Langford.
When we turn to Bill S-205, there are a number of elements. I do want to recognize that the bill is not in the same form as when the Senate handed it over to the House of Commons. I know that following those six meetings at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, a number of amendments were made to the bill, and I know we have some report stage amendments before us. We will, as a House, be deciding on the final form that we eventually want to have.
Some notable elements in the bill include mentions of the use of electronic monitoring devices, and I think some of the biggest parts of the bill deal with the recognizance orders that could be put in place for survivors of intimate partner violence, which would allow judges to impose conditions on these or for a domestic counselling program.
If we were to delve into the bill and look at those recognizance orders, first of all, there are a lot of different examples in the bill. It should be noted that the overall purpose would be to prevent serious harm by imposing conditions on a person, which can ultimately restrict their behaviour or their movement and essentially be a barrier the court could impose to reduce the risk of them committing a future offence.
We have to go back to section 810 of the Criminal Code to find existing provisions, and this bill would add some amendments to those particular sections. For example, there could be an order to attend a treatment program, to remain within a specified geographic area, to wear an electronic monitoring device so the person's whereabouts are known at all times, to abstain from communicating, to refrain from using social media or to abstain from the consumption of drugs and alcohol. Again, these all could vary based on the facts of the case before the court.
I want to thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for her hard work. We, as a caucus, will continue to support this bill. We believe that through the provisions in this bill, the legislative changes would be of benefit to survivors of intimate partner violence. It would provide some of the legislative guardrails that are necessary.
However, we are not going to legislate ourselves out of this problem. This is one piece of the puzzle that we as legislators can have a positive impact on, but we have a responsibility as a society to act swiftly and decisively to prevent and eliminate intimate partner violence and to support survivors. Bill S-205, on balance, would be a step in the right direction, but I think many people who are listening to this debate and who have that lived experience would agree with me that the work is far from over. We certainly must keep this issue top of mind.
With that, I will conclude my remarks. I appreciate being able to speak to this particular issue on behalf of my constituents.
