Posts by Pamela Cross
Making systemic change through an inquest (Part one)
On September 22, 2015, three women in Renfrew County– Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam – were murdered by Basil Borutski, a man who had been involved with each of them in the past. This triple femicide shocked the rural community and made headlines across Canada. In June of this year, an inquest was…
Read moreLuke’s Place Legal Director interviewed for The Sam Laprade Show
Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, was interviewed on June 16, 2022 for The Sam Laprade Show, a radio show under CityNews Ottawa. The interview focused on ongoing inquest into the 2015 triple femicide in Renfrew County. As Pamela mentioned, “the inquest may be difficult to observe for many people, but the goal isn’t to…
Read moreRecent cases: legality of religious marriage
Below are two recent cases that examine whether a religious marriage is a legal marriage under civil law, in the context of the wife’s claim for an equalization of net family property. As you will see, the two cases – which present different facts – were decided very differently by the judges who heard them.…
Read moreLegal Director, Pamela Cross, featured on CBC Front Burner
On June 9, 2022, Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, was interviewed as a key witness into the inquest into the 2015 triple femicide in Renfrew County for an episode of CBC’s Front Burner. The episode, entitled The reality of intimate-partner violence in rural Canada also featured CBC Ottawa reporter, Guy Quinneville, speaking to his…
Read moreWE REMEMBER: A report from the community for the inquest into the murders of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam
Pamela Cross is participating in the Inquest into the deaths of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam. As part of this work, Pamela prepared a report, WE REMEMBER: A report from the community for the inquest into the murders of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam, with funding from the Canadian Women’s Foundation.…
Read moreForty-four percent: A short history of intimate partner violence
Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, is participating in the Inquest into the deaths of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam. Earlier today, she presented a report, Forty-four percent: A short history of intimate partner violence before the jury as part of a panel of intimate partner violence experts. Also participating in this panel…
Read moreWhy it can’t all happen online
This article was originally published by The Lawyer’s Daily, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc., on November 2, 2021. Last month Gary Joseph posed the question “Why go back to the courthouse?” and encouraged family law lawyers to speak up so our voices could be heard. Family law lawyer A.J. Jakibowski took up the challenge and…
Read moreRecent case: Abuse of counsel may amount to family violence
In Armstrong v Coupland, Madam Justice Chappel applies a broad and nuanced understanding of the definition of family violence contained in the Children’s Law Reform Act (CLRA). The motion, brought by the father for increased and unsupervised parenting time with the young child (almost three years old), was the most recent in a long series of court appearances…
Read moreSubmission to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women re: Bill C-233
Presented by Pamela Cross, Luke’s Place Legal Director, on May 10, 2022 at 3:30pm. Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you to talk about Bill C-233. I do so on behalf of Luke’s Place Support and Resource Centre in Durham Region, where I am the Legal Director. I’m happy to talk to you…
Read more‘No’ to shared parenting presumptions
In his recent article in The Lawyer’s Daily, Gene C. Colman takes the position that the majority of Canadians support creating a rebuttable presumption in favour of shared parenting in family law (“Equal shared parenting has huge support”). I beg to differ with both his assertion that this is something most Canadians want and the wisdom of…
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