Bill C-311

Violence Against Pregnant Women Act

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (violence against pregnant women)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to specify that knowingly assaulting a pregnant woman and that causing physical or emotional harm to a pregnant woman are to be considered aggravating circumstances for sentencing purposes.

Criminal Code

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Mr. Speaker, regarding Bill C-311, Canadians are very concerned that there is no law protecting the unborn from injury or death, and that it is not considered an aggravating circumstance for the purposes of the Criminal Code of Canada. The petitioners feel that justice requires that an attacker who abuses a pregnant woman and her preborn child be sentenced accordingly. The sentence should match the crime.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to stand today to bring a number of petitions forward all on the same topic, again in regard to Bill C-311. It is well established that the risk of violence against women increases when they are pregnant. We all agree on that in this House and we know that to be the case.

Currently, in the injury or death of a woman and the child that she is carrying as victims of crime, pregnancy is not considered an aggravating circumstance for sentencing purposes in the Criminal Code of Canada. It is true Canada has no abortion law and it is still a huge discussion in our country. However, the majority of Canadians, crossing all those boundaries, agree that this legal void is extreme and we must protect pregnant women from abuse and from murder that impacts their lives and the lives of the children they are choosing to carry.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as always it is an honour to be able to rise in this place and share a petition on the matters that are so important to Canadians and specifically one today that references Bill C-311, an important bill that protects pregnant women and the unborn.

These petitioners establish that there is an increased risk of violence against women who are pregnant and that there needs to be action taken to ensure that violence against pregnant women is addressed accordingly. These petitioners call upon the House of Commons to pass legislation that the abuse or infliction of harm on a pregnant woman and her preborn child is an aggravating circumstance in the sentencing of those crimes.

Violence Against Pregnant Women Act

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-311, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (violence against pregnant women).

Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the member for South Surrey—White Rock for seconding my bill. It means a great deal to me.

It is my honour to rise to introduce this private member's bill, which would go a long way to addressing violence against some of the most vulnerable people in our society, pregnant women. The violence against pregnant women act seeks to amend the Criminal Code to ensure that the acts of knowingly assaulting a pregnant woman and causing physical or emotional harm to a pregnant woman are factored in as aggravating circumstances during the sentencing process.

Colleagues, the risk of violence against women increases when they are pregnant. However, consequences for their attackers do not increase at all. There are more than 80 cases in recent Canadian history of women who have been killed while pregnant. Each of these women was killed by men who knew they were pregnant. The killers intentionally sought to do harm to the mother or, in many cases, end the pregnancy. As it stands at this moment, our justice system fails to take these actions into account.

I am confident that this bill will receive widespread support from a House that stands united against gender-based violence in all its forms. In the words of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, “It is a form of abuse that costs lives, and it must not be tolerated in Canada. These acts are part of a continuum of hate that needs to be disrupted, and each one of us has the power to help break that cycle.”

Canada is failing its pregnant women and the children they have chosen to carry to term. Sentences issued by our courts should match the crimes committed. Our country needs this law to ensure that criminals who attack or kill a pregnant woman can be sentenced appropriately by our courts.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)