Status of Women Committee on Nov. 17th, 2025

[Jessica Fancy-Landry, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Nice. Thank you very much.

Ms. Gagnon, I'll ask you the same question.

[Karine Gagnon]

First, in the case of children who live in an environment where there is domestic violence, we must consider them as victims of this violence in their own right, unfortunately, and not simply as witnesses.

In addition, we need to train people in various sectors, including those in youth protection and education, on what coercive control is. In fact, one of our partners launched a training institute this morning for professionals who work with victims and children. One of the objectives of this training is to detect coercive control. I think this is a necessary measure.

When it comes to young adolescents who may engage in violent behaviour, the focus must obviously be on prevention. Here too, training and activities are key. One example that comes to mind is an activity in Quebec called “Les couloirs de la violence amoureuse”, or “Behind the curtains of dating violence”. This is a fun activity that raises young people's awareness of unacceptable behaviour.

Obviously, everything depends on training, prevention and support. Professionals in youth protection services, among others, must have a good understanding of what coercive control is and how domestic violence manifests itself. This is how we can ensure that we are not on the wrong track and that we are not overlooking something serious.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

We have time for a brief response from Ms. Auger, if that's okay.

[Jessica Fancy-Landry, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

That would be perfect. Thank you.

[Laio Auger]

For our part, we agree with the idea of training, but it must be done on a large scale and include stakeholders from the youth protection division, precisely so that they can better understand what coercive control is and better detect its manifestations. I think that working together will really yield results. The more people are trained, the more we will have a common language and the better we will be able to intervene appropriately.

For our part, our police officers have received training to fully understand the collateral effects on children. As Karine Gagnon rightly pointed out, children are not mere witnesses, but victims in their own right. It would therefore be worth considering whether it would be a good idea to take children into account when imposing protective conditions on bail. If there are concerns for the safety of these children, why are they not included in the conditions?

Above all, we must avoid the kind of wording that grants an exception to any judgment handed down by the Superior Court and opens the door wide to the best leverage for potential perpetrators who—

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Thank you, Ms. Auger. Ms. Fancy’s speaking time has expired.

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I will continue with you, Ms. Auger.

You mentioned consultation. That is exactly what happened in Quebec, where there was a form of consultation and non-partisan work in the context of the rebuilding trust report, Rebâtir la confiance. This report discusses specialized courts and the use of anti-approach bracelets, among other things.

In your opinion, what are the main challenges in enforcing protection orders and protective measures such as anti-approach bracelets?

[Laio Auger]

There are two sides to this.

Firstly, the staff currently in the field are not in a position to carry out the necessary checks to ensure compliance with the conditions. Unfortunately, large teams would be needed to carry out random checks, for example, or to go—

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Excuse me. Just one moment; we're having a problem with the translation.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

I hope you won’t count that as part of my speaking time, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Yes, I will make sure you have time.

We'll have the technician check, and then we'll start the time again.

I'll suspend for a couple of minutes while we sort that out. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Thank you for your patience as we tried to address the technical issues. It's important to have the translation in both official languages.

We will start again with Madame Larouche for two and a half minutes, and perhaps a little more.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Since my two and a half minutes are starting over from the beginning, I will take this opportunity to address Ms. Davis.

In one of your answers, you mentioned that domestic violence has been declared an epidemic.

What difference does it make, in practical terms, when governments recognize the phenomenon and label it in this way?

[Jennifer Davis]

One of the biggest things is identifying a commitment to prioritizing how we see and how we respond to cases of intimate partner violence and gender-based violence. We need to look at addressing the systemic issues that exist and potentially lead to cases of intimate partner violence and gender-based violence. Demonstrating that commitment also can help to change culture and say that intimate partner violence is not something that will be tolerated in our communities.

It does go beyond just supporting it and identifying it as an epidemic. There is funding that is required to invest in, as we talked about, wraparound supports for victims, youth and offenders. There is legislation that is required to support it. We've talked about coercive control. We've talked about more preventative measures in dealing with offenders. It's one thing to declare an epidemic. That needs to be followed by action and also by publicly identifying what actions communities are going to make and then demonstrating a commitment to fulfilling those actions.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

I have about 30 seconds left.

You also mentioned the issue of financial dependence. Last Friday, I attended a conference on women’s finances. It was extremely interesting. That said, several of the panellists were women who had been victims of domestic violence, unfortunately. They explained that while coercive control keeps victims in a state of financial dependence, if this cycle of financial dependence is not broken, it is difficult to escape the cycle of domestic violence.

What do you think?

[Jennifer Davis]

As I mentioned, I think coercive control should be added to the Criminal Code as a criminal offence because we need to look at other types of behaviour aside from just physical abuse, such as financial abuse, coercive abuse, psychological abuse, manipulation, etc. I believe that by having that as legislation, it could actually help to address those issues even where financial abuse is taking place or where dependency is involved and a victim fears reporting because they're dependent on their abuser.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Very good. Thanks so much.

Now we're going to Madame Vien.

You have five minutes.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank all the witnesses for making themselves available today.

Ms. Gagnon, we heard Ms. Davis talk about an epidemic of domestic violence. I have here a list of crimes committed against women, and the increase we have seen over the past 10 years is chilling.

Ms. Davis speaks of an epidemic. Would you say, Ms. Gagnon, that we are currently facing a national crisis in terms of violence against women and sexual assault?

[Karine Gagnon]

I find it difficult to say whether we are in a national crisis. We are certainly in an extremely worrying situation, where we are seeing a great deal of violence committed against women in particular.

On the other hand, I would say that support organizations, intervention services, police services and prosecutors are increasingly working together.

Are the numbers increasing because, as we hear more about it, victims are daring to turn to support services? That’s likely. The fact remains that the number of domestic homicides is extremely worrying.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Ms. Gagnon, I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that, during your opening presentation, I felt a cry from the heart when you asked if anyone anywhere knew that there was a victims’ charter and if it was being applied. Clearly, in terms of proportionality of rights, the pendulum seems to be swinging more to one side, namely that of the perpetrators.

That is what I understood from your remarks. Have I misunderstood? Are we paying enough attention to the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights?

[Karine Gagnon]

There is the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, but also the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We are well aware that rights and freedoms are important for every citizen of Canada. However, when we talk about not infringing on the freedom of a perpetrator of violence, are we weighing up—

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Excuse me. I'm so sorry to interrupt. We're having difficulty again with the interpretation. Perhaps you can speak slowly. I think that may help.

[Karine Gagnon]

Our concern is whether we are considering that the rights and freedoms of the victim are de facto infringed upon when they are the victim of this type of violence. It doesn’t work.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

I'm so sorry. The connection is not good enough for interpretation.

What I would say to both you and Madame Auger is that if there are answers to the questions that you want to provide to the clerk, you can write them to the clerk, and that will be good. Unfortunately, your connection is not good enough for us to respond.

[Jackie Huet]

Perhaps I can help my colleague by adding to what she said.