Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. Latimer and Ms. Mattoo, thank you for being with us today to speak about Bill S-205.
Ms. Mattoo, regarding new subsection 515(3.1) that it is proposed to add to the Criminal Code, the justice hearing the application for interim release must first "ask the prosecutor whether the intimate partner of the accused has been consulted about their safety and security needs", where the intimate partner is the victim of the offence alleged.
The present subsection 515(3) states that the justice making an order shall consider "whether the accused is charged with an offence in the commission of which violence was used, threatened or attempted against their intimate partner". In a case in which the presumed victim is not the intimate partner of the accused, are there other things that should be done to protect the intimate partner or the victim?