A public awareness campaign is expanding to show how Canada’s red flag laws may prevent weapons-related violence.
Lanark County Interval House and Community Support, and Algonquin College’s Victimology Research Centre have added the legal information to the See It, Name It, Change It campaign.
The initiative teaches people to recognize abuse and respond safely.
It launched in 2017 after seven women were murdered in rural eastern Ontario. It returned in 2022 during the inquest into the deaths of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam.
Lanark County Interval House Executive Director Erin Lee says people outside an abusive relationship may raise concerns.
Red flag laws allow someone to apply directly to a court when access to weapons creates a serious safety risk. A judge may issue an emergency prohibition order and have police remove them.
The process may apply in cases involving intimate partner violence, coercive control, suicide risk or escalating threats.
Lee says the law does not replace police during an active crisis.
Anyone facing danger should call 911.
Campaign materials are appearing on highways 7 and 15 and at Ottawa LRT stations.
The federally funded project includes online information for survivors, families, service providers and community members.
