Thank you.
It's a very good question, and of course one of the realities of this kind of cyber-violence is that it makes it very difficult for the woman to truly separate from her abuser. The idea of starting over in a new place or having a fresh start becomes very difficult when there are these continued ties electronically.
In terms of the way the bill is currently drafted, there's certainly no reason why coercive and controlling behaviour done through electronic means couldn't be covered. It certainly could be part of the controlling or coercive conduct, but there might be value in signalling that by including the phrase “including by electronic means”, which we see for some other offences in the Criminal Code. That might be a useful signal that it's not just necessarily....
It also brings me back to the point I was alluding to in my opening remarks. I'm a little concerned. I understand the need to try to define this in terms of certain relationships, but the idea that people necessarily have to be part of the same household doesn't really always speak to relationships that could involve someone being quite controlling through electronic means, even when people are not resident together. Those are two things to think about in that arena.