Notice Board

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BILL S-7: "Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act"
On November 19th, 2014 at Thomas Lounge (Oakham House), violence against women activists and community legal experts came together for an emergency press conference to respond to the Government of Canada’s introduction of the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act (Bill S-7).
This is the unedited recording from the press conference:

https://soundcloud.com/arunazehra/community-response-to-bill-s-7-barbaric-cultural-practices-act

Speakers:
Avvy Go – Clinic Director: Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian legal Clinic
Harmy Mendoza – Executive Director: Woman Abuse Council of Toronto
Shalini Konanur – Executive Director: South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario
Audrey Huntley - Co-Founder: No More Silence
Mary Lou Fassel - Director, Legal Department: Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
Laverne Blake – Manager of Client Services: Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter
Christa Big Canoe - Legal Advocacy Director: Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto
The Act will introduce sweeping changes to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), Civil Marriage Act and Criminal Code. The government’s statements in support of these changes are not based on any statistical data or research, perpetuate myths about practices of polygamy and forced marriages, and lead Canadians to believe that violence against women is a “cultural” issue that happens only in certain communities.
In addition, we know and have experience that criminalization has potential to become a tool to further target and over police racialized communities. While we agree that prevention is important in the discussion around forced marriage in Canada, we believe that education is the most effective preventative tool in this debate. We suggest that educating and raising awareness within the Immigration, Law Enforcement, Health and Education sectors is the best practice. Finally, we stand for all victims and survivors of gender based violence, who told us time and time again that they would not come forward if it meant criminal sanctions or deportation for their own family. We must continue to ensure that victims/survivors - instead of perpetrators - are at the centre of these discussions.
We remain concerned that the proposed legislative changes create barriers for accessing protection and resources by victims and survivors from specifically targeted communities. It will negatively impact survivor’s access to justice and safety through provisions that make non-citizens inadmissible to Canada based solely on their real or perceived choice of marriage form, not to mention the preventative detention and monitoring measures, and the criminalization of survivor’s families and communities. At worst, it exposes the underlying racist agenda that this Government harbor’s towards specifically targeted communities. The lip service paid by this government to the issue of violence against women through Bill S7 demonstrates at best, the Government’s complete lack of understanding of the issue of gender based violence.
For more information:
www.salc.on.ca/sw00nb4.html
MEDIA CONTACT:
Deepa Mattoo – mattood@lao.on.ca – 416-487-6371 (Ext: 43)
Statement endorsed by:
South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario
Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic
Social Services Network
Woman Abuse Council of Toronto
The Redwood Shelter
South Asian Women's Centre
Federation of Muslim Women
Rights of Non-Status Women Network
Agincourt Community Services Association
Ernestine's Women's Shelter
La Maison Shelter
FCJ Refugee Centre
No More Silence
Anita Khanna
Rupaleem Bhuyan