The Ontario government says work is underway to implement some of the recommendations from an inquest into the deaths of three women at the hands of their former partner, but the son of one victim is disappointed by what has not been done so far.
The jury at a coroner’s inquest into the 2015 deaths of Nathalie Warmerdam, as well as Carol Culleton and Anastasia Kuzyk in Renfrew County issued 86 recommendations in June aimed at preventing similar tragedies.
Most of the recommendations were directed at the provincial government, and it has now issued what it calls “part one” of its response, including progress made so far on a little more than half of them.
That work includes looking at amending the Family Law Act to give court the authority to order counselling in restraining orders involving intimate partner violence and planning a conference on trauma-informed approaches for sexual violence investigations.
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But Malcolm Warmerdam says he is disappointed the government has not yet responded to the recommendations addressing perpetrators of intimate partner violence, nor to one urging the immediate creation of a provincial committee in charge of implementing the recommendations.
Warmerdam, who spoke Friday at a press conference hosted by the Opposition NDP, said the recommendations are complex and he doesn’t expect them to all be complete by now, but would have at least liked to see commitments on them.
The government says in a statement that as the relevant ministries work to respond to the recommendations, they are committed to breaking the cycle of intimate partner violence, supporting survivors and keeping communities safe.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
