The family of a slain Kelowna, B.C., woman says it feels like ‘politicking’ is getting in the way of developing tougher laws to protect victims of intimate partner violence.
“There has needed to be change for a long time and last week gave us that hope that we will see change,” said Debbie Henderson, the aunt of Bailey McCourt.
McCourt is the mother of two children beaten to death in a parking lot in Kelowna back in July.
Her ex-husband, James Plover, is charged with second degree murder.
The grief-stricken family has been tirelessly pushing for change to better protect victims.
Last week marked a step forward in their fight, as a private member’s bill to do just that unanimously passed second reading in the House of Commons.
Bill-C 225, also known as Bailey’s Law, was put forward by a B.C. Conservative MP in memory of McCourt.
This past Tuesday, the Liberal government tabled Bill c-16, the Protecting Victims Act.
It is a major overhaul of the Criminal Code to protect victims of sexual and intimate partner violence and children from predators.
But McCourt’s family is feeling let down, saying elements proposed in Bailey’s Law are in the new legislation, namely an automatic first degree murder charge related to an intimate partner killing.
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The duplication has the family questioning whether Bailey’s Law will ever see the light of day.
“It does feel like they took it and put it in their legislation,” Henderson said. “It definitely feels like a low this week to go from a place of looking like, hey, Bailey, we’re doing this for you. We got this. The government supports it, to now questioning ,was that all just for show?”
While their ultimate goal is tougher laws to save lives, their grief, Henderson said it is being compounded by what she says feels like a political game.
“How despicable to give hope to a grieving family trying to honour their loved one who was brutally murdered,” a tearful Henderson said.
Frank Caputo is the Conservative MP who brought forward Bailey’s Law.
“I certainly share the concerns of the family,” said Caputo, MP for Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola. “I’ll be candid — I was caught off guard.”
Caputo said he will be speaking with the minister as soon as possible.
“I want to seek some clarification from the minister of justice,” Caputo said. “My hope is that the minister will stay with what he said, which is that there would be support for Bailey’s Law and we can proceed with Bailey’s Law.
In an email to Global News, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Sean Fraser said he wants to see Bailey’s Law continue to move forward.
Fraser stated, “these reforms reflect commitments we made long before forming government and were shaped by months of consultations with survivors, experts, and frontline organizations.”
Fraser also added, ‘These efforts are not in conflict. Bailey’s Law and the Protecting Victims Act share the same goal and can complement one another. Nothing in our legislation prevents Bailey’s Law from advancing.”
Henderson said the family wants to remain hopeful.
“We want her children as they grow older to see that their mother was honoured, that her death wasn’t in vain and it made change,” she said.
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