To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
WHEREAS Intimate Partner Violence impacts every community across Ontario;
WHEREAS the Renfrew Inquest’s number one recommendation is to declare Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic in Ontario;
WHEREAS gender-based violence is a human rights violation and no one should be harmed or killed due to their gender, race,
nationality, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation;
WHEREAS the province of Ontario should join the nearly 100 municipalities across the province who have already declared
Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic;
WHEREAS advocates, survivors and municipalities across the province have called on the government to take this step; and
WHEREAS the Indigenous Chiefs of Ontario passed a resolution declaring Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic in 2005.
THEREFORE, WE THE UNDERSIGNED, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to help save lives across the province by:
- Respecting experts in the field who have years of experience, knowledge and research.
- Accepting the Renfrew County Inquest’s number one recommendation and immediately declaring Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic as an important step to raise awareness and address gender-based violence.
- Joining the nearly 100 Ontario municipalities who have declared Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic, and immediately passing Bill 173: Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act, 2024 in the Ontario Legislature.