VICTORIA, B.C.: Kristina Loewen, MLA for Kelowna Centre, has issued the following statement after Bailey’s Law (Bill C-225) passed third reading in the Senate of Canada and will imminently become federal law:

“The passage of Bailey’s Law is an important victory in the fight to protect women from intimate partner violence, and I am proud to have advocated for it. The bill makes the killing of an intimate partner an automatic first-degree murder charge if there is a history of coercive or controlling conduct, toughens bail restrictions for people with a previous domestic violence conviction, and empowers courts to hold individuals charged with domestic violence for risk assessment. The bill is named after Bailey McCourt, a woman from Kelowna who was murdered by her ex-husband. I am grateful that Bailey’s life and memory were honoured by the passing of this bill that was named after her.

“I would like to thank the family of Bailey McCourt for their tireless advocacy in the fight for change and congratulate them on this success. I would also like to thank Member of Parliament Frank Caputo for introducing this bill and all of the MPs and senators who helped pass it.

“I had the chance to meet with Bailey’s family at the Legislative Assembly of B.C. and join them in calling for the swift passage of Bailey’s Law and further action to prevent intimate partner violence and support victims. We were able to pressure the NDP government into tabling the Stanton Report on intimate partner violence, but it did not include a clear action plan or implementation timeline. Instead of delivering tangible results, the NDP government has been unwilling to go beyond studying the issue while victims wait for change.

“There is still much more work to be done in addressing intimate partner violence. I will continue to advocate for greater victim supports in B.C., including GPS monitoring with victim alerts including a victim notification system for any release, bail charges or condition breaches, creating a provincial domestic violence offender registry, and standardizing lethality-risk assessments across police, Crown prosecutors, and courts.

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Media Contact:
Francesca Guetchev, Press Secretary
Francesca.Guetchev@leg.bc.ca
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