It’s time to address intimate partner violence in Ontario

We are deeply concerned by the number of femicides and acts of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women this year. Recent acts of violence include the femicides of: Ontario is on track for more femicides this year than last. Here are some more facts: What more do we need to know before IPV is declared…

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Because of you: Two years of calling for action

On the Friday of a long weekend, more than 70 individuals gathered in Barry’s Bay, ON. Together, they recognized the second anniversary of the Culleton, Kuzyk and Warmerdam (CKW) inquest. About the gathering We joined Lanark County Interval House and EVA Renfrew County in hosting a community gathering on Friday June 28, 2024. This gathering…

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It’s time for Ontario to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic

The first of 86 recommendations from the 2022 inquest into the murders of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk, and Nathalie Warmerdam was for Ontario to formally declare intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic. Since the recommendations were released, 94 of 444 Ontario municipalities have taken up this recommendation and declared IPV an epidemic. It is now…

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Making systemic change through an inquest (Part two)

Pamela Cross - Guthrie Award speech by Carol Barkwell

Over the three weeks of the recent femicide inquest held in Pembroke, Ontario, the five jurors read hundreds if not thousands of pages of exhibits and listened to the testimony of more than 30 witnesses who spoke to a broad range of issues related to the 2015 murders of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie…

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Making systemic change through an inquest (Part one)

Pamela Cross

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…

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Luke’s Place Legal Director interviewed for The Sam Laprade Show

Pamela Cross

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…

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Toronto 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

many hands reaching in

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…

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