Ford says he has 'zero tolerance' for intimate partner violence, but not yet declaring it epidemic

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has "zero tolerance" for intimate partner violence, but stopped short of saying his government would push through an opposition bill to declare it a provincewide epidemic.

"We're 100 per cent behind making sure there is zero violence against women," Ford told reporters at an unrelated news conference in Burlington, Ont.

"I have four daughters. And if anyone ever touched my daughters, that would be the worst day of their lives. It's unacceptable. I have zero tolerance for any sort of violence against women or anyone in that fact."

NDP MPs once again called on the province to declare intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic on Monday, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the government should have passed Bill 173, the Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act, in April this year and accused the province of stalling on the issue. 

Ford did not say why the province hasn't done so yet.

Declaring it an epidemic means devoting resources: NDP

Stiles calling IPV an epidemic means treating it as a public health crisis and devoting resources to fighting it. Resources mean supporting the courts and ensuring there is space for women at shelters, she said.

Naming IPV an epidemic was the top recommendation of a coroner's inquest two years ago into the deaths of three women in Renfrew County in 2015, she added.

"We have the evidence. We have the reports," she said

Bill 173 passed second reading on April 10, before being referred to the standing committee on justice policy. On the first day of the fall session this year, a motion to pass the bill was struck down, according to the NDP.

Stiles told reporters  at Queen's Park that Ford should be thinking of the issue not just in terms of his family, but in terms of the province as a whole.

"He is not just a father, he's the premier of this province. He has a responsibility to everybody in this province," Stiles said.

'Let's take action,' Stiles says

Stiles said the government has enough information to pass the bill without committee hearings and that it's offensive that the government will not pass the bill quickly. Stiles added the government is stalling because it doesn't want to spend the money.

"It's outrageous that this government will not take this simple, straightforward step... Enough talk. Let's take action."

At a news conference on Monday morning, the Ontario NDP brought in representatives from more than a dozen legal clinics that support the move to declare IPV an epidemic. One representative of a legal clinic said naming partner violence an epidemic would help in court cases, such as in custody battles.

In question period, Stiles said 34 women were killed this year between January and June in Ontario, or an average of five every month. Ninety-five municipalities in Ontario and six provinces and the City of Toronto have all declared IPV an epidemic.

"How many more people have to die before this government declares intimate partner violence an epidemic?"

Province says it has supported bill, is hearing from experts

Ontario's Minister for Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa said in response that violence against women and girls is a "horrific crime" and the government has supported the bill and is continuing to review and hear from experts on the issue.

"We have made a commitment to make sure they have the supports and resources to continue to provide those supports to families," Parsa said

Parsa said the government is investing $1.4 billion annually to make sure supports and services are available to families in Ontario and has partnered with the federal government on the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

"We will work with any partner, any level of government to stop violence against women in our province once and for all," Parsa added.

NDP MPP Jessica Bell said the move cannot come soon enough.

"Every day of inaction puts lives at risk," she said. "Ontario needs to catch up... Lives are depending upon it."