Bill C-233: The need for judicial education on intimate partner violence

We continue to support Bill C-233 as it moves to Third Reading. Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, and Legal Services Director, Emily Murray, submitted a discussion paper to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women regarding Bill C-233 and the importance of judicial education on intimate partner violence.

Submission to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women re: Bill C-233

Presented by Pamela Cross, Luke’s Place Legal Director, on May 10, 2022 at 3:30pm.

Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you to talk about Bill C-233.

I do so on behalf of Luke’s Place Support and Resource Centre in Durham Region, where I am the Legal Director.

Bill C-233 passes Second Reading and moves to debate at Committee stage

We are thrilled that Bill-C-233 passed Second Reading on Friday and has been referred to the Status of Women Committee for debate.

As we explained in our previous blog post, a central component of this Bill involves judicial education on the issue of intimate partner violence.

Brief on Bill C-5, which proposes amendments to the Criminal Code and to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)

This brief was jointly submitted by the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, Luke’s Place, and Women’s Shelters Canada to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic (“the Clinic”) is the only Clinic of its kind in Canada, providing specialized counselling, legal, and interpretation services. The Clinic has extensive expertise representing and serving women and gender-diverse people who have experienced intimate partner and domestic violence.

Judicial education on intimate partner violence

Bill C-233 is moving to Second Reading in the House of Commons on Friday, April 29, 2022. A central component of this Bill involves judicial education on the issue of intimate partner violence. Known as Keira’s Law, this aspect of the Bill honours Keira Kagan, a four-year old girl killed by her father in an apparent murder-suicide in February 2020.

Luke’s Place receives Resilient Communities Fund grant to support women’s pandemic recovery

(Durham Region, ON) – On Tuesday April 26th, local MPP Lorne Coe met virtually with the team at Luke’s Place to congratulate on receiving critical family violence pandemic recovery funds, with a $132,000 Resilient Communities grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation awarded in 2021. The Resilient Communities Fund was developed to help non-profit organizations recover and rebuild from the impact of COVID-19 to continue meeting the needs of Ontario communities. 

After She Leaves

It’s here! On April 25, 2022, Luke’s Place launched its updated After She Leaves online training and resource manual for new and experienced workers supporting women involved in the family court system.
Both the online training and resource manual cover changes to the Divorce Act and Ontario’s Children’s Law Reform Act (CLRA),

Making new law: Damages for abuse

I don’t often read a family court decision that makes me jump for joy, but a recent decision by Justice Renu Mandhane of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice did just that.

In this case, Justice Mandhane recognizes a new tort of family violence and awards the wife $150,000 in damages for the pattern of physical and coercive controlling abuse she was subjected to by her husband over their 16-year marriage.

International Women’s Day 2022: Reasons to celebrate!

When the world went into lockdown in March 2020, none of us thought our lives would still be largely isolated two years later. And yet, here we are, preparing to celebrate our second IWD virtually.

The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women in ways too many to list. Rates of intimate partner abuse have shot through the ceiling because of stay-at-home protocols,