I addressed in my opening remarks some of the changes we're making to femicide. We are creating a constructive first-degree murder charge to demonstrate that we will take hate-motivated murder as seriously as any other crime in the Criminal Code. We will deal with murder committed in the context of a sexual offence as seriously as any other crime in the Criminal Code. We want to demonstrate to Canadians that we will not tolerate this most heinous version of murder that exists. We also want to focus on not just punishing crime after it takes place, but potentially having the justice system intervene earlier in the process. This is where changes to the new offence of coercive control come in.
When we know there are certain behaviours that are predictive of violence, potentially predictive of fatal violence, we have an opportunity to intervene. That could lead to criminal charges for the offensive behaviours that we know often precede violence and often precede murder. When we have an opportunity to address these kinds of needs, we must take that chance.
I should take this opportunity to offer my thanks for the collaboration of Mr. Caputo and his private member's bill, which complements some of the measures included in Bill C-16, in response to a horrific tragedy that came out of British Columbia, the case of Bailey McCourt. When we work together across party lines to address a problem of common concern, we can offer more protections for vulnerable people.