VICTORIA, B.C.: “We spoke with Bailey McCourt’s family and share their deep disappointment in Premier David Eby and Attorney General Nikki Sharma. The Premier said he supported their advocacy for legislative change to protect victims of intimate partner violence, yet now refuses to stand behind Bailey’s Law. The family’s grief and frustration are understandable. Once the spotlight was off, the NDP left them behind. This government seems more concerned about the optics of supporting a Conservative bill than about saving women’s lives.

Bailey’s Law is a practical and life-saving reform that deserves full provincial support. Refusing to endorse it is a moral failure. The Attorney General promised to meet with the McCourt family and has not done so. The Premier boasts about his government’s feminist credentials, but true leadership means standing up for women, not hiding behind politics.

We looked Shane McCourt in the eye and promised to fight for his family, for his daughter’s memory. We’re going to fight to keep that promise, even if Premier David Eby won’t keep his.

We stand with Bailey’s family and every victim of intimate partner violence. We will continue to fight for Bailey’s Law and for a justice system that protects the vulnerable, holds repeat violent offenders accountable, and never treats human life as a partisan issue.”

Additionally, Debbie Henderson, representing the McCourt family, added: “The Premier said he supported our advocacy for legislative change to protect victims of intimate partner violence, so we are extremely disappointed that the NDP has now chosen not to stand behind federal Bill C-225, Bailey’s Law. We are also disappointed that Attorney General Nikki Sharma has yet to honour her promise to meet with us. Our family has lived the consequences of a system that fails to protect victims, and we will not settle for lip service from political leaders.”

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Media Contact:
Ryan Painter
Communications
Ryan.Painter@leg.bc.ca