Status of Women committee  First of all, in terms of the definitions themselves, when we talk about coercive control, it encompasses the whole range of abuse that can occur with domestic violence or intimate partner violence. That is the idea behind the notion of coercive control. This notion is broader in scope and encompasses all types of abuse, including financial and psychological abuse.

Status of Women committee  Initiatives are being implemented in Quebec and throughout Canada. The notion of coercive control is now appearing in various assessment tools much more frequently, including those used by police and community agencies. Five or six years ago, in Canada, this terminology was used much less, but it is now up to date.

Status of Women committee  Ms. Greenwood, do you want to answer the question?

Status of Women committee  Of course, looking at what has been done in the United Kingdom and elsewhere...

Status of Women committee  I will let Ms. Greenwood answer your question, Ms. Sidhu.

Status of Women committee  For about a year or a year and a half, the association has undertaken research that does indeed focus on coercive control. The experiences of the United Kingdom, that is to say Scotland, Wales and England, have demonstrated the importance of training all direct and indirect stakeholders.

Status of Women committee  Good afternoon. As police officers, we know that by the time a domestic violence charge goes to court, it’s likely that the victim has been experiencing some form of violence or controlling behaviours at the hands of their partner for a significant amount of time. Recently, our association expanded its focus on domestic violence to address the issue of coercive control.

Justice committee  It probably happens quite frequently. I don't work in the field anymore, but that's probably what my fellow officers would tell you. There are situations of financial abuse, for example, meaning financial control by the husband. The husband may also prevent the wife from leaving the house, from using social media or from seeing friends.

Justice committee  That sort of situation could happen. People close to the situation are often the ones who inform us of this type of behaviour. So the victims do not necessarily call the police, but rather family members or someone in the neighbourhood. They inform us of the situation and we are called to go and check what is happening at the address in question.

Justice committee  Thank you for the question. The first part of your question refers to the seriousness of the offence. I would probably put it in the same category as criminal harassment. The offences related to coercive control will probably come before an offence involving bodily harm, since coercive control often occurs before acts of domestic violence, to use your example.

Justice committee  Good afternoon. Thank you to the members for the opportunity to appear before this committee. My presentation today will be delivered in two parts. The first will present the position of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) on the proposed legislative amendment.