The Ontario government has responded to 30 of the 86 recommendations made by the Renfrew County inquest into ending Intimate Partner Violence (or IPV) in Ontario, and rejected eight of them. The inquest looked at what could have been done to prevent the 2015 femicide of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam, murdered by a man who was a former partner to all and known to be violent.
Among the recommendations rejected is that IPV be declared an epidemic. They pointed to medical definitions in dismissing it. Lanark County Interval House Executive Director Erin Lee, who testified at the inquiry a year ago, disagrees.
Another one that was rejected was creating a registry for repeat IPV offenders, saying existing systems should be able to do that. Lee says strides are being made in other ways and hopes the province can catch up.
Of the other rejected recommendations, the province said in most cases bodies exist to do the jobs being asked. IPV experts disagree.
They say that specific steps need to be taken to end the issue in the province, as outlined in the jury’s recommendations.
Lee says misunderstanding could be at the root of the rejection.
Lee and other stakeholders say they will hold a seat at the table to discuss the recommendations further.
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