Months after Gabie Renaud was allegedly killed by her partner in Saint Jerome, Quebec has introduced legislation inspired by her story.
On Wednesday, the government tabled Bill 4, which would allow people aged 14 and over to request information from police about a partner’s history of violence.
The proposed legislation received a lengthy applause from MNAs across party lines, following its introduction.
“This is important because this is going [to] give the intimate partner the opportunity to take the right decision with all the knowledge of, ‘What’s the criminal background of my partner?’” said Ian Lafrenière, Quebec’s domestic security minister.
Under the proposed legislation, Quebec provincial police would assess requests and communicate relevant information through support organizations.
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“These organizations will do the analysis of the information and then meet with the potential victim and transfer the information and do a follow-up to make sure no one is left alone,” said Martine Biron, Quebec’s minister responsible for the status of women
Calls for such legislation have been growing since Renaud’s death last September. Renaud was allegedly killed by her partner, who had a long history of domestic violence.
Québec Solidaire has been advocating for the adoption of such a law — inspired by Claire’s Law in the U.K. — and called Wednesday an important step, but warned that more action is needed to prevent femicides.
“I’m asking also the government and Christine Fréchette to invest in housing [for those suffering domestic violence] who escape from violent homes,” said Ruba Ghazal, Québec Solidaire spokesperson. “Right now, 50 per cent of women, they don’t have any place to go, and this is not acceptable in Quebec society.”
Since the beginning of the year, there have reportedly been 10 suspected femicides in Quebec.
Renaud’s family says the hope now is that this legislation can help save someone else’s life.
“It makes it so my sister is not dead for nothing,” said Rachel Renaud. “We will remember her forever — and she’s helping other people with a law with her name on it.”
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