Thank you very much for the opportunity to engage in your committee study of coercive control.
I'm joining you today from Treaty 7 territory in Mohkinstsis, which is the Blackfoot word for Calgary.
I'm speaking today on my own behalf, but I did file a submission with the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights for its study of Bill C-332 with three co-authors in March 2024. Our submission raised concerns with the criminalization of coercive control. I will not repeat those concerns in these opening remarks but certainly will welcome questions on that subject.
In my time today, I'll focus on research that I've conducted with colleagues Janet Mosher and Wanda Wiegers that examines how coercive control is being interpreted and applied under the Divorce Act. This research reveals several concerns, two of which I'll highlight today.
First, coercive control is being used against survivors. We found several cases where coercive control has been interpreted broadly by family courts—