Shoemaker writes to prime minister about intimate partner violence

In the wake of the horrific five-fatality shooting that occurred on Sault Ste. Marie on Oct. 23, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker has released a letter he sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Nov. 28.

The letter outlines Shoemaker's specific recommendations on the issue of intimate partner violence.

Among other things, the mayor asks the government to consider adding the term “femicide” and its definition to the Criminal Code.

The letter is on the agenda for Monday's city council meeting, which will be live-streamed on SooToday starting at 5 p.m.

The full text of Mayor Shoemaker's letter follows:

Prime Minister Trudeau: Thank you for taking the time to meet with me while you were in Sault Ste. Marie.

During our meeting, I had confirmed I would provide a follow up on what the City of Sault Ste. Marie would like to see done from the federal perspective to assist with intimate partner violence.

The city's requests are not groundbreaking, in fact, they mirror the recommendations of the Renfrew County inquest.

There are seven recommendations that come from the inquest.

They are as follows. The Government of Canada should:

• 79. Explore adding the term “femicide” and its definition to the Criminal Code to be used where appropriate in the context of relevant crimes
• 80. Consider amendments to the dangerous offender provisions of the Criminal Code, or the inclusion of a new classification of offender under the Criminal Code, that better reflects the realities of IPV charges and takes into account risk factors for serious violence and lethality in an IPV context
• 81. Undertake an analysis of the application of s. 264 of the Criminal Code with a view to evaluating whether the existing factors adequately capture the impact on survivors. Consider the removal of the subjective requirement that the action causes the victim to fear for their safety
• 82. Consider finding alternate means for survivors to attend and testify in court, such as by video conferencing
• 83. Implement the National Action Plan on Gender-based Violence in a timely manner
• 84. Establish a Royal Commission to review and recommend changes to the criminal justice system to make it more victim-centric, more responsive to root causes of crime and more adaptable as society evolves
• 85. Include “coercive control”, as defined in the Divorce Act, as a criminal offence on its own or as a type of assault under s. 265 of the Criminal Code. The full report is available here.

The father of one of the victims of last month’s Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Sault Ste. Marie has also been calling for a cooling-off period of 48 hours for someone accused of IPV to undergo psychiatric testing, and to have any weapons removed from their possession until such testing is undertaken and the results are known.

While I trust the federal government has many factors to consider in reviewing these recommendations, including their alignment with the Charter, I believe studying these specific recommendations in more depth could, at a minimum, allow the Justice Department to determine how best to deal with IPV.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to canvass this issue with you, and I look forward to seeing progress on this file in the near future.

Sincerely, Matthew Shoemaker

Mayor, Sault Ste. Marie