Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to speak on the issue of coercive control, something that I know jeopardizes the safety and well-being of countless women and gender-diverse people across Canada, an invisible violence that has been ignored for far too long. I really want to thank my colleague, the member for Victoria for tabling this important piece of legislation that seeks to alleviate the struggles of people who experience coercive control, the majority of whom are women and gender-diverse people.

Coercive control includes different kinds of abusive behaviour like isolating individuals from family or friends, depriving them of basic needs, threatening to harm them or their children, and closely monitoring and and controlling their behaviour. It takes a significant toll on those who are victimized and deprives them of their charter right to be free from harassment and discrimination, and to live in dignity, which also includes violence against one's thoughts and spirit that impact their daily life and everything they do.

I have often heard that when somebody is physically punched, we can see that abuse. With coercive control, it is difficult to see that abuse. The experience of people who have been victimized by coercive control has lasting impacts that are lifelong for many.

It is critical that we address the issue of coercive control in light of the general rise of violence against women and gender-diverse folks across Canada, particularly targeted within rates of violence. We know that the highest rates reported are for indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals. Rates of domestic violence have increased by approximately 30% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while more than 50% of Canadian women over the age of 16 have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Again, statistics are significantly higher for indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals.

It is particularly alarming that we see intimate partner violence leading to a rise in femicide. According to Stats Canada, between 2009 and 2022, 18% of solved homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner, with women most often being the victims. Because of rising violence, over 70 municipalities have declared gender-based violence an epidemic, something that the Minister of Justice affirmed in a letter to the Ontario coroner's office. I urge the current government to stop talking about a crisis of violence and actually take action to finally address it.

Although this bill is a positive step, there have been some concerns raised about the bill, which I know that the member for Victoria has committed to trying to rectify, particularly from the National Association of Women and the Law, which comprises over 250 women's organizations. Particularly because we must do whatever is needed to end the epidemic of violence, we must also take evidence-based approaches to ensure that policies we put forward work best for empowering those who are victimized. Sometimes we do things for positive reasons, but they can indirectly cause harm. It is for this reason that I would like to express some of the concerns surrounding the coercive control legislation voiced by women's organizations and experts at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, including the National Association of Women and the Law, which, as I said, represents over 250 feminist organizations across Canada. While we all are deeply concerned by the rise in gender-based violence and intimate partner violence, organizations like NAWL have expressed concerns with the legal consequences that can arise for victims and survivors when we criminalize abusive behaviour without addressing the broader context of sexism in the legal system, primarily impacting Black people, indigenous people and people of colour.

According to experts, less than a quarter of women and gender-diverse people who experience violence and abuse have enough faith that their accusation will be taken seriously to report it to the police. Instead, their encounters with the legal system mostly occur in the realm of family law, where issues of parenting are adjudicated. In this context, abusers use judicial violence to perpetuate abuse post-separation.

Central to this violence is the pseudo-scientific concept of parental alienation: Women who report family violence are systematically suspected of being alienating, that is, trying to manipulate their children and destroy the father-child relationship. This occurs even when there are criminal charges, investigations or convictions based on a father's violence or abuse. On the so-called “parental alienation” theory, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls stated the following: “the discredited and unscientific pseudo-concept of parental alienation is used in family law proceedings by abusers as a tool to continue their abuse and coercion and to undermine and discredit allegations of domestic violence made by mothers who are trying to keep their children safe.”

The concept of “parental alienation” serves as a tool to revictimize, discredit and silence victims of family violence, particularly mothers. When a mother makes an allegation of family violence or coercive control, she is suspected of trying to “alienate” her children. Accusations of parental alienation are primarily directed at women, especially victims of intimate partner violence. Legal experts tell us that a theory of parental alienation is used almost systematically when women report intimate partner violence, including coercive control, by abusers and their legal teams, yet judges and court officials across Canada usually believe these false accusations, or it is not uncommon for them to believe these false accusations, due to an inherent bias against believing women who report abuse.

If we criminalize coercive control and tell victims to go and report violence without addressing the family law crisis, we might unknowingly be putting victims at risk. If mothers do report coercive control, they will be suspected of parental alienation and may risk losing their children. Some mothers are even advised by their own lawyers not to disclose domestic violence in family court due to the risk of being accused of parental alienation. Some women have said that if they had known in advance the consequences of parental alienation accusations, they never would have reported abuse or violence by an intimate partner.

With this context in mind, we need a holistic approach to addressing coercive control, expanding beyond the realm of criminal law to encompass the nuances of family law. This includes, for example, prohibiting the pseudo-scientific concept of parental alienation in courts and ensuring that judges take seriously women's accusations of violence. Failure to do so risks leaving a large percentage of victims vulnerable to continued exploitation and manipulation.

These factors are what we must consider when creating policies to address coercive control. It is absolutely imperative that solutions we propose to an issue as serious as this one do not contribute to the struggles of victims and further empower abusers.

The bill proposed by the member for Victoria is a wonderful first step in the process of finally addressing coercive control. I look forward to working with her and other members in this House to also look at outside issues within family law, including parental alienation, to ensure that those fleeing violence are safe to do so without consequences.

Leah Gazan

$540,427.00