Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much, Ms. Gill and Ms. Silverstone, for being before us today.
I want to concentrate on amendments that you propose to the legislation.
I would like to start by the definition of who would be covered by the legislation under proposed subsection 264.01(3). Basically, in order to be covered by the legislation as I see it, you need to be “current spouses, common-law partners or dating partners”. Dating partners are confined to be people “who have agreed to marry each other”. Otherwise, you have to live in the same household.
If you've been dating for a period of five or seven years, you don't live in the same household and you haven't agreed to marry each other, you may very well have coercive control issues but you're not, as I see it, covered under this legislation. I'm wondering if each of you could comment on that and maybe suggest whether you think that's sufficient.