Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Bill C-16, the protecting victims act. The bill would give our justice system the tools to act before violence escalates and before it is too late.
Women are being hurt, controlled and isolated, most often by the very people they should feel the safest with. In Peel Region alone, police respond to roughly 16,000 incidents of family and intimate partner violence every year. That is 16,000 calls for help and 16,000 moments of fear.
Those are only the ones we hear about. Behind closed doors, in silence, there are countless more. Sometimes, that silence ends in tragedy. We call it femicide. Bill C-16 says clearly that this must stop. It recognizes femicide as first-degree murder and it acknowledges that abuse is not only physical. It is coercion, control and fear.
The need is urgent. I urge every member of the House to stand with victims, to stand for justice and to support Bill C-16.