Family of slain Kelowna woman to discuss intimate partner violence bill with justice minister

OTTAWA — The aunt of a Kelowna, B.C., woman killed in an intimate partner violence case is set to discuss a bill aimed at addressing such violence with Justice Minister Sean Fraser on Wednesday.

Debbie Henderson, whose late niece, Bailey McCourt, was bludgeoned with a hammer in a downtown Kelowna lot earlier this year, appeared in Ottawa on Tuesday, joined by Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Henderson implored the federal government to pass Bill C-225 – also known as Bailey’s Law – a private member’s bill put forward by Conservative MP Frank Caputo.

Henderson, ahead of her meeting with Fraser, said she “hopes he listens to the cries of our family and that we have a productive conversation.”

The bill, if passed, would establish GPS monitoring and a registry for convicted domestic offenders. It would also automatically make the murder of an intimate partner a first-degree crime.

“It needs to be passed quickly. There’s no need to wait. The next person could be you or it could be one of your family members, and we don’t want to see any other family member go through the horror that our family has gone through,” said Henderson.

Henderson said “all parties should be on board” in fast-tracking the bill she believes “sets partisanship aside.”

“I feel this bill is a non-partisan bill. It’s a human issue, it’s directly related to saving lives and justice for victims,” Henderson told media outside the House of Commons.

Henderson said the Liberal government’s recently introduced bail reform legislation has so far failed to address the urgency and scale of intimate partner violence.

While Fraser said B.C.’s lobbying on the McCourt case influenced several aspects of the government’s legislation, Premier David Eby acknowledged yesterday the law stops short of meeting all the family’s and the province’s goals. He said B.C. will continue to advocate for the McCourt family.

Poilievre told media that his party is still evaluating the bail reform legislation, but his focus Tuesday was on Bailey’s Law.

“The time to move is now. The time to set partisanship aside is now,” said Poilievre.

Caputo, appearing alongside Henderson and Poilievre, echoed this view.

He said he expects to achieve unanimous support for the bill.

“We have the victim’s family, and we have Premier Eby saying pass this law,” said Caputo. “This bill should move, and it should move fast.”

“The time to address this was yesterday. It was before July 4, when Bailey was killed. We have to move. We have to listen to Canadians. If we, as legislators, are not prepared to listen to Canadians and move rapidly, then why are we here?”

Henderson said her family will hold onto the hope that Bill C-225 will pass until she sees otherwise.

National Post

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