Thank you for your comments.
I know I'm repeating myself, but emergency protection orders save lives. Anyone—any worker, front-line service provider at a shelter, or police officer—who works in any field related to violence against women will tell you that they are one of the most important tools for preventing family violence.
Of course, as you indicated, Canadian women have access to a number of legal protections right now that are not available to men and women living on reserve. As I said earlier, aboriginal women are three times more likely than other Canadian women to experience violent crime, including spousal violence.
The emergency protection orders that are provided in Bill S-2 are very important, because they extend these protections to women and children living on reserve.
Bill S-2 also gives first nations band councils the ability to create their own legislation—which I think is important, as Minister Valcourt said—related to matrimonial property rights and to enforce these orders on reserve. Should they not, then obviously the federal regulations would stand.
I wanted to go through a little bit of the process, because a lot of thought has gone into this. It has been 25 years. We've tried four times now to pass this legislation, and there has been a lot of consultation with first nations and with the Native Women's Association of Canada, as Minister Valcourt indicated.
When it comes to emergency protection orders, any spouse or common-law partner, whether or not they are a member of a first nation, will be able to make an application to a judge or a justice of the peace for an emergency protection order. That's incredibly important, as you said. The person seeking protection will not need to be occupying the family home at the time they make the application, which is also important.
A peace officer or any other person will be able to make the application on behalf of the person seeking protection—which is also very important and, of course, with their consent. They can also make the application without the person's consent, if they have permission from the judge or the justice of the peace. Again, those of you who are involved in issues around preventing violence against women know why this is also very important.
The application will be able to be made ex parte, which means that it is a proceeding that involves only the person seeking protection and does not involve representation or notification of the other spouse or common-law partner. Again, this is very important for a women who's going through issues around domestic violence.
If the designated judge is satisfied that family violence has occurred and that the victim is at risk and in need of protection, he or she will be able to make an order excluding the other spouse or common-law partner from the family home for up to 90 days as well as indicating other measures that the designated judge considers necessary for the immediate protection of the victim or of the property that is at risk of damage.
Again, this is what all of us are used to dealing with when it comes to domestic violence in every other part of the country, but on reserve this is not the case today.
In making the order, the designated judge will be required to consider the broader details and circumstances surrounding the family violence, including, for example, the history and nature of the violence and the best interests of any children.
A peace officer will be able to serve a copy of the order on any person who is specified in the order. A person will be bound by the order as soon as they receive notice of it. The peace officer will also let the applicant know that the order has been served on the spouse or common-law partner. The contents of the order may, for example, direct the peace officer to remove the spouse or common-law partner from the family home.
Emergency protection orders are often the initial procedures in a relationship breakup, which would be followed by application for exclusive occupation and valuation.
One of the greatest hardships for women fleeing a violent family situation is that they often leave with only the belongings on their backs, often going to a shelter and ending up without long-term housing.
Bill S-2 will ensure that women seeking protection from a violent spouse will not be revictimized by needing to run, often to the nearest town or miles away.
Obviously, you know how I feel about emergency protection orders. Every day that goes by without passing this bill, these women have less protection.