Stiles: Time to call intimate partner violence what it is – an epidemic

Following the tragic and horrific loss of five people, including three children, as a result of intimate partner violence in Sault Ste. Marie, Official Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles urgently called on Premier Ford to take action and declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in Ontario.

“Tragically, gender-based violence and femicide is on the rise, and we are long overdue for urgent change. A report from July of this year found that 30 women were killed in 30 weeks.

68 out of 86 recommendations from the Renfrew Inquest fall under provincial jurisdiction. It is shameful that the Ford government not only rejected many of these recommendations, but also chose to not declare intimate partner violence an epidemic.

We don’t have time to waste. We should be doing everything we can to prevent even one more death from intimate partner violence.”

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Ontario NDP

The Ontario New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The Ontario NDP, led by Andrea Horwath since March 2009, currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following the 2018 general election.

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