Submission to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

RE: Bill C-16, An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to criminal and correctional matters (child protection, gender-based violence, delays and other measures)

The National Institute on Ageing (NIA) recommends changes to Bill C-16, which would criminalize coercive control in intimate partner relationships. While the NIA supports the bill’s goal of protecting victims of coercive control, it is concerned that the proposed legislation does not extend protections to many older adults who experience similar patterns of abuse from adult children, relatives and others in positions of trust and dependence.

As a member of the Elder Justice Coalition, the NIA is calling on Parliament to strengthen Bill C-16 by expanding the proposed offence to include abuse committed by relatives now and commit to a review after two years to consider expanding the offence to include informal caregivers. The submission argues that older adults should not have to wait 5 years for a review before possibly receiving legal protection from coercive and controlling behaviour. The NIA recommends an incremental approach that would first extend the offence to relatives now, and then, following implementation, consider expanding protections to informal caregivers and other trusted relationships in two years. If the bill proceeds with its current scope, the NIA urges the government to begin studying broader protections immediately after the bill receives Royal Assent, rather than waiting five years for a review.