Ont. Tories will back intimate partner violence bill

The Tories will support an opposition bill to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in the province, Government House Leader Paul Calandra said Wednesday, reversing an earlier rejection of the idea. Calandra said the government would ask the justice committee to thoroughly examine intimate partner violence.

The move came after the New Democrats tabled a bill that simply declares intimate partner violence an epidemic. The private member's bill was set for second reading Wednesday night, but could easily be defeated by the majority Progressive Conservative government.

But that bill would not be defeated, Calandra said in response to Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles' question in the legislature about whether the bill would be supported.

“Indeed, the government and this caucus will be supporting the private member's bill that comes before the House later today,” Calandra said.

“In fact, we will be going a step further, Mr. Speaker ... The premier has asked that we seek the advice of the standing committee on justice to do an in-depth study on all of the aspects, with respect to intimate partner violence, both the current programs that are available, some of the root causes of it, and how we can do better in the province of Ontario.”

Last June, the province rejected calls from an inquest into the deaths of three women at the hands of their former partner to formally declare intimate partner violence an epidemic.

The jury at a coroner's inquest into the 2015 deaths of Nathalie Warmerdam, Carol Culleton and Anastasia Kuzyk in Renfrew County made that recommendation one year ago Wednesday, along with 85 others aimed at preventing similar tragedies.

The province said at the time it would not declare intimate partner violence an epidemic because it was not an infectious or communicable disease.