Luke’s Place activities
Supporting women to access family law supports during COVID-19
Luke’s Place offers a variety of supports to women and their advocates in Ontario during the pandemic For women If you are in Durham Region (Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby) Contact us at 905-728-0978 x 221 Monday to Friday 9 am to noon and 1 to 4:30 pm for: Individual consultations…
Read moreCTV: Calls for a unified family court system and further changes to Canada’s Divorce Act
CTV News recently spotlighted the changes in Canada’s Divorce Act, interviewing the Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross. Among other revisions, the new Act includes a definition of family violence as it relates to the best interests of the child. From the article: “We’re very unhappy with the way the language around decision-making responsibility is…
Read moreThis International Women’s Day ensure that women’s expert voices are centred in COVID-19 recovery plans
Op-Ed in The Toronto Star by Farrah Khan and Pamela Cross This International Women’s Day we can expect to hear the usual platitudes from government, business and institutions about women’s empowerment and how far we have come. What we deserve to hear are concrete commitments to address the gender-based impacts of the pandemic. We cannot go…
Read moreGovernment of Canada Commits to National Action Plan (NAP) on Gender Based Violence (GBV)
Luke’s Place co-chairs working group for National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence
Read moreChatelaine article: Why divorce cases involving allegations of abuse still confound family courts
Journalist Flannery Dean recently interviewed Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, and other experts for the article Why Divorce Cases Involving Allegations of Abuse Still Confound Family Courts available online and in the January 2021 issue of Chatelaine magazine. The article centres on the tragic outcomes of two mothers who fled domestic violence and highlights common…
Read moreHelp her stay safe this holiday season
Thanks to you, Luke’s Place responded quickly to the pandemic. Help us continue!
Read moreToronto Star article: ‘We haven’t come very far’ – YWCA Toronto and women’s shelters call on government to address root causes of Polytechnique massacre anniversary
Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, was interviewed for a Toronto Star article on the anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre. The article reflects on the massacre and highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and their safety. “There were a whole lot of factors that combined when the pandemic first hit that put…
Read moreOntario’s family law takes a step forward in protecting the vulnerable: Toronto Star op-ed
Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, published an opinion piece in The Toronto Star about the passing of Bill 207: An Act to amend the Children’s Law Reform Act, the Courts of Justice Act, the Family Law Act and other Acts respecting various family law matters. Last week’s passage of Bill 207, which significantly changes…
Read moreTVO article: ‘Vagueness is a gift to an abuser’: What the Tories got right — and wrong — on Bill 207
Journalist Jane Gerster interviewed Luke’s Place and other women’s advocates/services about Bill 207 and its impact on women, as well as the importance of programs like the Family Court Support Worker Program in supporting women through the complex family law system. Advocates such as Pamela Cross, legal director at Luke’s Place, an Oshawa-based family-law support…
Read moreCTV’s W5 article: ‘Why does he keep abusing?’ Changing the question about intimate partner violence
As part of CTV’s W5 episode Unrestrained, host Avery Haines interviewed Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross. Unrestrained aired at 7:00pm EST on November 14, 2020. Pamela spoke about the complex family law system and described how restraining orders don’t do enough to protect women in abusive relationships. Lawyer and advocate Pamela Cross says,“a woman…
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