Friday, December 6th, 2024
Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
Premier’s Office
Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
By email: premier@ontario.ca
RE: Prioritize and Pass Bill 173: The Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act, 2024
Dear Premier Ford and Members of the Ontario Legislature,
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the Ecole Polytechnique Massacre which saw a man deliberately kill 14 women. Not much has changed since 1989. Women are still being killed in acts of gender-based violence and we, the undersigned representatives of the gender-based violence sector and gender justice advocates, are writing to express that it is time to sign Bill 173: Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act, 2024, into law, to declare Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic.
Over the summer, dozens of experts and organizations travelled to Queen’s Park to give in-person and virtual testimonies and dozens more submitted written recommendations on how and where the government should invest in desperately underfunded support for survivors and prevention measures to support the Government’s understanding of this epidemic.
By November 2024, there had been a total of 62 recorded cases of femicide in Ontario – it is unknown how many have gone unreported. There is no denying that intimate partner violence is a public health and safety emergency. We wish to reiterate the urgent need for this critical legislation, particularly in light of this alarming rise.
As advocates, frontline workers, leaders and representatives from community-based organizations, we witness daily the devastating impacts of intimate partner violence. The ongoing trend of increasing rates of femicide underscores the immediate necessity for comprehensive reforms aimed at prevention, safety, and support for both survivors and their families, and those causing the harm/aggressors.
Every moment that passes without the passage of this bill is a moment in which lives remain at risk, and families across the province continue to bear the agonizing weight of devastation and loss. Bill 173 represents an acknowledgement of the crisis before us, it recognizes the deep investments needed to accelerate solutions, and it sends a clear message - that the lives and well-being of women, gender diverse people and their families matter.
We call upon you and all members of the Ontario Legislature to prioritize Bill 173 in your agenda and to take decisive action that reflects the compassion our communities so desperately need and deserve. Together, we must respond to calls from our community to create a safer and more just future for all Ontarians. Together, we must do everything in our power to end gender-based violence and femicide.
Thank you for your attention to this pervasive and life-threatening issue. We look forward to your prompt action in bringing Bill 173 to a vote and making a meaningful difference in the lives of women, children and gender diverse people.
Sincerely,
Abuse Hurts
Abuse Logic
Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes
Alternatives for Women
Amnesty International Canada’s English-Speaking Section
Anduhyaun Inc.
Armagh House
Assaulted Women's Helpline
Atikameksheng Anishnawbek
Aura Freedom International
Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
Bethesda House
Black Greek Community Health Centre
Black Women In Motion
Canadian Center for Women's Empowerment
Canadian Federation of Students / Fédération Canadienne des étudiant.e.s
Canadian Women's Foundation
Catholic Family Services of Toronto
CCRC
Centre de santé communautaire de l'Estrie
Centre Novas-CALACS francophone de Prescott-Russell
Centre Victoria pour femmes
CHADWIC HOME INC
Chatham-Kent Sexual Assault Crisis Center
Circle Community LandTrust
Coalition of Muslim Women of KW
Community Family Services of Ontario
Community Resource Centre, Killaloe
Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre
Counselling Centre of East Algoma
Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre
Domestic Abuse Services Oxford
Elliot Lake Women's Group Inc.
Embrave Agency to End Violence
Engage Barrie Organization
ÉSO SEMEL OHT
Family Service Toronto
Family Transition Place
Flemingdon Health Centre
Future North
Gillian's Place (Women's Place St. Catharines & District Inc.)
Halton Women's Place
Help Her Recover Trauma Relief for the Community
Herizon House
Hiatus House
Hope for Refugee International
Huronia Transition Homes
Inasmuch House, Mission Services of Hamilton
Indus Community Services
Ingamo Homes
Interfaith Counselling Centre, ICC
Interval House of Ottawa
Janet K. Ayieni
Jewish Family and Child Services
Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre
KCWA Family and Social Services
KGCFS
Krasman Centre
Lakehead University Student Union
LAMP Community Health Centre
Lanark County Interval House & Community Support
Le Rendez-vous de Vallée Est
Leadership féminin Prescott-Russell
Luke's Place
Maama Watali
Maison Interlude House Inc.
Maison McCulloch Hospice
Malvern Family Resource Centre
Manitoulin Family Resources
Mattawa Women's Resource Centre
Meta4 Communications
Meta4 Consulting
Mind-Aid Muskoka
Murray McKinnon Foundation
Muskoka Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services
My Friend's House, Collingwood Crisis Centre
Nelson House of Ottawa Carleton
North York Women’s Shelter
Northwestern Ontario Women's Centre
OCASI-Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
Ontario Association of Interval & Transition Houses
Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC)
Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres
Optimism Place Women’s Shelter and Support Services
Ottawa Basketeers
Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre
Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre
PARN
PDAN - Peterborough Domestic Abuse Network
Planned Parenthood Ottawa
Planned Parenthood Toronto
Project Agape
Ralph Thornton Community Centre
Red Door Family Shelter
Regent Park Community Health Centre
Renfrew Victoria Hospital Regional Assault Care Program
Réseau des femmes immigrantes francophones de Prescott-Russell (RéFIF-PR)
REVIVE
Rexdale Community Health Centre
Sandgate Women's Shelter of York Region Inc
Sexual Assault Centre (Hamilton and Area) - SACHA
Sexual Assault Centre Kingston
Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region
South Asian Women's & Immigrants Services Inc.
South Riverdale Community Health Centre
St Peter's United Church of Sudbury
Stonegate Community Health Centre
Sudbury and Area Victim Services
Sudbury District Restorative Justice Reparatrice du District de Sudbury
The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking
The Children's Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin
The Denise House/Sedna Women's Shelter & Support Services
The Salvation Army Sudbury Cedar Place, Emergency Shelter for Women and Families
Three Oaks Foundation
Thrive Counselling
Thunder Bay and District Coordinating Committee to End Woman Abuse
Times Change Women's Employment Service
Timmins and Area Women in Crisis
Timmins Family Counselling Center.
Toronto Neighbourhood Centres
Ukrainian Centre
Vaughan Community Health Centre
Victim Services of Durham Region
Victim Services of Peterborough and Northumberland
Victim Services of Renfrew County Inc.
Victim Services Toronto
Victim Services of York Region Inc./ Services aux Victimes de York Region Inc.
Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre
White Ribbon
Willowbridge Community Services
WomanACT
Women In Crisis (Algoma) Inc.
Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke
Women’s Rural Resource Centre
Women’s Rural Resource Centre - Strathroy
Women's Centre of York Region
Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region
Women's Health in Women's Hands CHC
Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)
Women's Mosque of Canada
Women's Sexual Assault Centre of Renfrew County
Women's Support Network of York Region
Working for Change
Yellow Brick House
York Region Centre for Community Safety
YW Kitchener-Waterloo
YWCA Cambridge
YWCA Durham
YWCA Hamilton
YWCA Muskoka
YWCA Niagara Region
YWCA Peterborough-Haliburton
YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin
YWCA Sudbury
YWCA Toronto
If you would like to add your organization to this list, please email SPritchard@ywcatoronto.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sami Pritchard, Director of Advocacy and Communications, YWCA Toronto
MOBILE: 437.286.9627 EMAIL: SPritchard@ywcatoronto.org