Survivors of violence are denied their day in court and at Queen’s Park
Survivors of violence are denied their day in court and at Queen’s Park
We are nearing the end of the spring session at Queen’s Park, it’s a time when patience is low and emotions run high. Unfortunately, things are bound to take place.
But even with that caveat, something happened recently that was truly disappointing.
Advocates had come to support Bill 198 (or Lydia’s Law), an initiative from MPP Catherine Fife to address the shocking amount of sexual assault cases thrown out of court because of backlogs.
Survivors, Fife noted, are doubly harmed when this happens. Local lawyers tell me the Ottawa Courthouse is now quadruple booked, giving survivors grim prospects for justice – 1,326 sexual assault trials were withdrawn or stayed across Ontario in 2022 alone.
Fife had proposed Bill 198 to shift in a different direction. The legislation was based on an assessment from Ontario’s Auditor General five years ago; it would require the Attorney General to provide statistics to the Legislative Assembly on the progress of sexual assault cases that have been in the system for eight months and not heard, and report on why. Bill 198 was named after a young sexual assault survivor who endured two years of court delays.
Survivors from across Ontario had planned to watch the debate on Bill 198 this week in person, but that moment was taken away when the government used its majority to send Lydia’s Law to committee without debate at Second Reading. Fife was incensed, and that was a sentiment that was widely shared in all opposition caucuses.
“This is a slap in the face,” Fife said, “to the hundreds of survivors and advocates we are expecting in attendance for this incredibly important debate. This bill will introduce measures to help the survivors of sexual assault seek justice. And the PCs don’t want to hear it? If they think they can silence the voices of survivors, they need to think again.”
The government insisted it had different motives and wanted to send Lydia’s Law to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy committee right away so it could be studied in tandem with Bill 173, the Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act that I have discussed before. They claimed this was a way to “expedite” the legislation.
But the only thing expedited was the government’s exposure to debate on Bill 198 and the throngs of advocates poised to fill the galleries. This is what happened for Bill 173, which was among the most powerful days I have seen at Queen’s Park. Survivors of violence are fed up and are organizing for change. It is our responsibility as elected officials to respond.
It is unacceptable that survivors of violence are denied their day in court, and for Bill 198, their day at Queen’s Park. But we will keep mobilizing for justice, stay tuned here for updates.
