Ontario An investigation into the deaths of three women at the hands of his ex-partner is working on implementing some of the recommendations, but the son of one victim is frustrated by what hasn’t been done so far.
A coroner’s inquest into the deaths of Nathalie Warmerdam, Carol Coulton and Anastasia Kuczyk in Renfrew County in 2015 issued 86 recommendations in June aimed at preventing similar tragedies.
Most of the recommendations were directed to the provincial government, and it has now released “Part One” of its response, which includes progress made on a little over half.
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That work includes amending the Family Law Act to give courts the right to consult on restraining orders involving intimate partner violence and planning a conference on a trauma-informed approach to investigating sexual violence .
But Malcolm Warmerdam said Friday he is disappointed the government has not yet responded to recommendations addressing perpetrators of intimate partner violence, nor urged the immediate formation of a provincial committee to implement the recommendations. .
“These are complex recommendations to try to implement,” he told a press conference organized by the opposition NDP.
“I’m not expecting them to have done and accomplished everything they’ve done so far. But I was expecting a commitment to this very important part of the puzzle. And I haven’t seen it yet.” .
A spokesperson for the Solicitor General’s Ministry said the government would complete its review of all recommendations before the summer.
“The work required to understand, assess and plan for the recommendations is complex and must be done with care and attention,” Greg Flood wrote in a statement.
“As relevant ministries work with the Chief Coroner’s Office to update these recommendations, we remain committed to breaking the cycle of intimate partner violence and supporting survivors to help keep communities safe.”
NDP leader Marit Stiles said the jury of inquiry produced a “road map for action” but that the government had not followed through.
“The Ford government’s latest report on this does not even accept half the recommendations of the inquiry, such as declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic,” she said.
“They’re dragging their feet, and we can’t allow that. This is a public health crisis. People affected by intimate partner violence have been waiting too long.”
In addition to declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic, other recommendations the government has not yet addressed include creating a survivor advocate position, reviewing policies on emergency alerts and media releases about dangerous situations, and for men This includes setting up a 24-7 hotline to prevent those who need help from engaging in intimate partner violence.
The government said some of the work it is already doing includes identifying healthy and abusive relationships and violence prevention, improving training on intimate partner violence within the justice system and adding information about how police investigate High school curriculum includes considering future updates. Officer training on home assault risk assessment.
The inquest jury also made several recommendations to the federal government, but no response from Ottawa had yet been received by the coroner’s office. Those recommendations included exploring adding the term femicide to the Criminal Code. Representatives for Justice Minister David Lammetti did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Basil Borutski was convicted in 2015 of killing three women during an hour-long rampage in the Ottawa Valley.
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