Status of Women

The committee met to study section 810 of the Criminal Code and women's safety. Appearing were Debbie Henderson, as an individual, and Harmy Mendoza, Executive Director of WomanACT.

Debbie Henderson testified about the murder of her niece, Bailey McCourt, by her former partner James Plover, who was released after conviction pending sentencing and killed her hours later. She argued that peace bonds and no-contact orders are ineffective "promises" and called for GPS monitoring with geofencing to provide real-time alerts to police and victims when an offender breaches restricted zones. She also supported creating an intimate partner violence registry to allow women to check a partner's history, and backed Bill C-225, which would make murder of an intimate partner first-degree murder and require risk assessments, noting her family asked it be named "Bailey's Law."

Harmy Mendoza emphasized that intimate partner violence is an epidemic, citing 35 femicides in Ontario since November 2024, and argued that section 810 peace bonds are inconsistent, short-term, and often conflict with family court orders. She recommended extending peace bond durations, integrating wraparound services like housing and safety planning, and aligning conditions across criminal, family, and child protection systems. She also called for a legal definition of intimate partner violence in the Criminal Code, a gender-based violence commissioner, better data collection disaggregated by race and immigration status, and perpetrator intervention programs, noting that the current PAR program in Ontario has been shortened due to funding constraints.

Henderson disagreed with the reverse onus in bail reform, saying she lacked confidence in the criteria for release, while Mendoza said it could be helpful but stressed the need to avoid unintended consequences and to coordinate across jurisdictions. Henderson also expressed concern that the principle of restraint prioritizes offender liberty over public protection, and said lighter sentencing reduces deterrence. Mendoza noted that risk assessment tools exist but must be paired with safety planning by violence-against-women experts, including for workplaces, and that the justice system alone cannot prevent violence without prevention and education efforts.

The committee discussed procedural matters regarding the deadline for written briefs, with members agreeing to accept submissions until November 28, 2025, and to allow time for translation before beginning report writing.