In response to an inquest recommendation, Chatham-Kent council passed a motion asking the province to declare gender-based and intimate partner violence an epidemic.
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Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey entered the successful motion, which was approved as part of the consent agenda without discussion during the Dec. 11 meeting.
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In Chatham-Kent last year, there were 1,788 intimate partner violence calls made to police, it stated, adding that according to Statistics Canada, 80 per cent of such incidents go unreported.
“I wanted to bring (the motion) forward because we still see it every day in Chatham-Kent,” Storey said after the meeting. “It’s an issue that we need to address, not yesterday, not last week, but today and in the future.”
The Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk, and Nathalie Warmerdam inquest (the Renfrew County Inquest) issued 86 recommendations last year to prevent future deaths.
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Storey cited the recent Chatham court case involving Stephen Thompson, who was sentenced recently to life for murder, with no chance of parole for 14 years, for the 2022 slaying of his girlfriend, Cynthia Sitzes.
He originally was charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder this past July.
“(The case) shows there is a long way to go,” Storey said.
Her motion also asked the municipality to declare an epidemic and that the police services board integrate intimate partner violence into the community safety and well-being plan.
More than 70 Ontario municipalities and regions have declared a gender-based violence or intimate partner violence epidemic, she noted, as well as organizations such as the Ontario Big City Mayors and Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario.
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A copy of the motion will be sent to Premier Doug Ford, various ministers, local members of parliament and provincial parliament, and municipal associations.
Stressing it isn’t simply symbolic in nature, Storey said the province declaring an epidemic “can often unlock funding” and boost other supports.
“It’s not fair about the leader of this province making a powerful statement to protect women and girls,” she said. “It can lead to real, lasting and impactful change.
“We cannot just pay lip service to it every year. We have to move that needle. And with the first’s support and backing we can definitely do that.”
Michelle Schryer, executive director of the Chatham-Kent Sexual Assault Crisis Center, was one of several community leaders on the issue who gave deputations at the meeting.
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“Not all femicide are a result of intimate partner violence,” she said. “Racial femicide and sexual femicide are also very real.
“And the 14 women we held in remembrance last week didn’t even know the man who gunned them down at École Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989 for no other reason except they were women.”
When asked why she didn’t pull the motion out of the consent agenda for discussion, Storey said the speakers were “extremely eloquent” and she didn’t feel she had anything to add.
“It’s not just one gender that needs to fix it,” she said. “We need all of our allies around the table working together.”
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