Overview
- Pierre Poilievre and Frank Caputo urged MPs on Tuesday to grant unanimous consent to advance Bill C-225, with relatives of Bailey McCourt joining their appeal on Parliament Hill.
- Bill C-225 would classify killings of current or former intimate partners as first-degree murder without proving premeditation and create IPV-specific assault and criminal harassment offences.
- The proposal would expand bail tools, including judge-led bail hearings for those with recent IPV convictions, tighter detention options for high-risk accused, enhanced risk assessments, and updated rules on seized evidence.
- A new Statistics Canada report shows police-reported intimate-partner violence rose 14% since 2018 to more than 128,000 victims in 2024, with women and girls overrepresented and 100 intimate-partner homicides recorded last year.
- The government has not committed to C-225; Justice Minister Sean Fraser says separate IPV legislation is planned by year’s end that could address first-degree murder presumptions, and Bill C-14 introduced last week tightens bail and sentencing for related offences.