Waterloo MPP calls PC government’s move on sexual assault justice bill 'cruel'
A Waterloo MPP is speaking out after her private member’s bill, aimed at improving transparency around sexual assault cases, was pulled from debate.
In a move that blindsided the opposition, Progressive Conservatives voted Tuesday to send NDP MPP Catherine Fife’s bill, named 'Lydia's Law,' to committee without debate. Some NDP MPPs shouted "shame" and "cowards" as PC MPPs stood to vote.
“It's just shocking that they would have such disdain for women,” Fife said afterwards, as she fought back tears.
According to Fife, there were more than 1,100 sexual assault cases thrown out in 2023 and 1,300 the year before.
Lydia’s Law would attempt to make the justice process more transparent for victims.
“80 per cent of sexual violence and sexual assault incidents are not reported to the police because, as Lydia learned, it's a very hostile and re-traumatizing system,” Fife told CTV Kitchener in an interview on Thursday.
The bill is named after a woman currently going through the court system. A publication ban prevents the media from sharing any information about her case.
“It is one thing to be silenced through the court system, but to be silenced in the Ontario Legislature, is not only cruel, it's dangerous, and it's irresponsible behavior on the part of the government,” said Fife.
More than 100 survivors and advocates had planned on going to Queen's Park for the debate that was originally scheduled for Wednesday, before it was cancelled.
The NDP now fear Lydia’s Law will disappear.
“I do have another bill, ‘Til Death Do Us Part Bill’, which has been sent to committee for 457 days. So when the government says ‘we're going to expedite it,’ really what they mean is that they're going to just let it sit there,” Fife said.
On Tuesday, Government House Leader Paul Calandra dismissed accusations that the PC government is trying to kill the bill.
“I'm uncertain as to why they're so angry about us expediting it to a committee designed to look specifically at the issues that are raised in the bill. I have every confidence that the committee is going to do the work they’ve been asked to do,”Calandra said. “[It] will get back to the house and we’ll deal with it.”
Calandra explained the goal is to get the bill to a committee already studying intimate partner violence sooner, and that he expects elements of Lydia's Law will be folded into the final committee report.
Meantime, Fife told CTV News, there’s a big difference between intimate partner violence and sexual assaults and said they shouldn’t be lumped together.
“If the government had permitted the debate to happen, they would know the difference,” she said.
SASC reacts
Sara Casselman, the executive director of Sexual Assault Centre Waterloo Region was also at Queen's Park, and said our community isn't immune to the rising number of cases of sexual assault.
“I remember, 10 years ago, we might have 40 people on our waiting list for counseling services. And last year, we topped out at 341 survivors waiting for counseling services,” Casselman said.
She estimates more than 13,000 sexual assaults happen in Waterloo Region every year and admits most of them aren’t reported.
Lydia’s Law aims to hold the attorney general accountable and Cassleman said that's desperately needed.
“It's rare that there is a guilty verdict in cases and people misinterpret that to think that sexual violence is rare and in fact, it's not. We know that one in three women in Canada will have that experience at some point in their life,” said Cassleman.
Fife promises this isn't the end of the bill. It will go to the justice committee where Fife said she's prepared to try to pull it and debate it so survivors have their voices heard. She said there’s also an online petition to help bring it back to Queen’s Park.
With files from CTV Toronto.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6973608.1721691615!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
2nd woman found dead in English Bay: Vancouver police
For the second time in as many days, a woman's body was found near Vancouver's shoreline Monday.
2 Albertans accused of threatening to kill Trudeau, Freeland, Singh
Men from Edmonton and Calgary are accused of threatening to kill some of Canada's top government leaders.
Athletes show off stylish and expensive team clothing for the 2024 Olympic Games
Canadian athletes attempting to reach the podium at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will also be looking fashionable for the entire world to see.
Harris has support of enough Democratic delegates to become party's presidential nominee: AP survey
Vice-President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party's nominee against Republican Donald Trump, according to an Associated Press survey taken in the aftermath of President Joe Biden's decision to drop his bid for re-election.
Four suicides in New Zealand linked to Ontario's Kenneth Law
New Zealand's coroner has ruled that four of its citizens died after ordering products from an Ontario man who is facing murder charges for selling poisonous substances.
Toronto woman charged with voyeurism after taking 'intimate' photos during massage: police
A Toronto woman who allegedly took 'intimate' photos of an individual who was getting a massage has been charged with voyeurism, police say.
IN PICTURES Here's what Calgary's new event centre 'Scotia Place' will look like
The name of Calgary’s new event centre was unveiled on Monday. The arena will be called Scotia Place.
Harris steps into the limelight. And the coconut trees and memes have followed
If you're trying to get up to speed on Vice President Kamala Harris' swift emergence as Democrats' possible nominee this fall, you really need to know your memes.
These are the four leading vice-presidential picks for Kamala Harris' campaign
No one knows the importance of selecting the right running mate better than Vice President Kamala Harris.