Liberals seek to declare 'femicide' as first-degree murder and criminalize 'coercive control'

OTTAWA — Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser tabled a sweeping new crime bill Tuesday, seeking to stiffen punishments for offences committed against children and women, while also proposing to restore mandatory minimum sentences for a slew of offences. 

It also seeks to address the issue of court cases being tossed by judges over delays in having them heard. 

The 167-page bill, titled the “Protecting Victims Act,” was presented to the House of Commons, with Parliament set to rise this week for a holiday break, meaning that the study of new proposals would not happen until the New Year.

Chief among the legislation’s major changes is the creation of a new offence criminalizing a pattern of behaviour seen in abusive relationships known as “coercive control.”

Researchers, advocates and survivors of gender-based violence have long used the term to describe the threats and violence which are often exhibited by a perpetrator of domestic homicide before a victim is killed.

A formal recommendation for the federal government to add “coercive control” to the Criminal Code came from an inquest several years earlier that examined the circumstances around the 2015 killings of three women in Renfrew County, a region of rural Ontario, by a man with a known history of violence against women.

Former justice minister Arif Virani, who did not seek re-election, had said he was open to the change. Parliamentary committees have also studied the issue in the past, including before the last election, when former NDP MP Laurel Collins, who was defeated during that race, presented a private member’s bill that would have added “coercive control” to criminal law.

Members of Parliament from all parties on the committee dedicated to the status of women’s issues recently called on the Liberals to follow through on those efforts.

Fraser, at a press conference announcing the bill, thanked Collins by name.

“We have an opportunity to have the justice system intervene, not just after someone has been killed, but we have an opportunity to have the justice system intervene before a relationship becomes violent, and before violence becomes fatal,” he said on Tuesday.

Minister for Women and Gender Equality Rechie Valdez also told the crowd of government MPs and advocates that a woman or girl dies from gender-based violence “every 48 hours.” 

Tuesday’s bill defines “coercive control” as threatening or violent behaviours exhibited by someone towards an intimate partner, their children and pets, as well as to those close to them.

It specifically includes “controlling” or “attempting” to exert control over a partner’s movements and social media access, as well as their work, appearance and finances. It also includes making threats to die by suicide or self-harm.

The proposed offence carries a punishment that someone found guilty of an indictable offence may be imprisoned “for a term of not more than 10 years.”

Tuesday’s bill also introduces the term “femicide” into the Criminal Code. It seeks to make it a first-degree murder offence, should a woman be killed under a specific set of circumstances, such as within the context of an intimate partner relationship, when controlling behaviour was present.

It also includes when a homicide is committed that involves sexual violence, human trafficking and is motivated by hate.

Doing so fulfills a campaign commitment Carney made and responds to a longstanding call from advocates and researchers, who argue that such murders are unique and that using the term “femicide” allows for greater education and awareness.

The bill also fulfills another campaign commitment to include as part of the offence against the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, those which are “a visual representation” of someone that could be mistaken as real, which refers to the practice of using generative AI to make what are commonly known as sexualized “deepfakes.”

Other changes include proposed sentencing increases for sexual assault and voyeurism, as well as establishing new offences for recruiting young people to commit crimes and threatening the distribution of child sex abuse materials.

Tuesday’s bill represents the third major piece of justice legislation presented by the Carney government this fall. The first two, a bill targeting the use of terror and other hate symbols and proposals to toughen up access to bail, have yet to pass.

Public safety has been a major issue for Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has accused the Liberals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau of ushering in reforms over his party’s nearly decade in government that he argued created a more relaxed regime for those accused of serious crimes.

Fraser’s latest bill attempts to respond to some of the concerns the Liberals have faced, including when it comes to a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that struck down the one-year mandatory minimum sentences for the access and possession of child sex abuse images, known as child pornography.

Conservatives and other critics decried the top court’s decision at the time, calling on Fraser to use the notwithstanding clause in the Charter to allow the Liberal government to uphold the minimum sentencing requirement.

Tuesday’s bill responds by trying to safeguard remaining mandatory minimum sentences and include a change that states courts may allow an offender to serve less time, “but only if the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment would amount to cruel and unusual punishment,” for that specific offence.

Fraser said his legislation seeks to restore mandatory minimum penalties “in a way that is constitutionally compliant,” saying the government wants to address those which have been struck down and those which have not, but which the minister called “constitutionally vulnerable.”

The Department of Justice says 60 offences remain subject to mandatory minimums.

The minister defended on Tuesday how the government plans to allow courts to have “limited discretion” when it comes to mandatory minimum sentencing, which he said would allow them to survive future constitutional tests.

His legislation also proposes to address the issue of court cases being tossed due to an accused’s right to a trial not being met within a reasonable timeframe by directing that courts consider other options rather than granting a stay of proceedings.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association released a statement on Tuesday, saying the bill attempts to overturn “ nearly 40 years of Supreme Court precedent” and removes the “strongest constraint requiring the justice system to run on time.”

“The federal government’s proposal to gut the (Charter right) to be tried in a reasonable time is unconstitutional and punts the hard work of resolving delay,” Shakir Rahim, who directs the association’s criminal justice program, said in a statement. 

National Post

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