Kiera’s Law has been passed!
Bill C-233, dubbed “Keira’s Law,” will expand training for judges to include domestic violence and coercive control.
The bill also includes an amendment to the Criminal Code that would allow for the attorney general to order an electronic monitoring device for an accused as a release condition.
The amended Divorce Act changes the definition of family violence to include non-physical abuse such as coercive or controlling behaviour, or behaviour that causes a family member to fear for their safety. Under the new act, a judge can now consider these factors when determining the best interests of a child.
There is still so much work to do – but today we celebrate this passing of this monumental bill!
Posted @withregram • @savisofhalton
https://senparlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2?fk=10603505&globalStreamId=16&fbclid=IwAR0PTrsS1iUSSPuA_bV0siQPqIu_q0PtoQDhVMHsWLH_Mf0-08nK4O_mqso
Original:
“Keira’s Law”, named after Keira Kagan who was found dead at Milton’s Rattlesnake Point, is set to take a big step Tuesday (April 18) towards becoming a Canadian law.
Bill C-233 will get a final reading in the Canadian Senate and, if passed, will be sent to the Governor General to receive Royal Assent and become enshrined in Canadian law.
Four-year-old Kagan was found dead in February, 2020 at Rattlesnake Point Conservation in Milton in what her mother Dr. Jennifer Kagan-Viater maintains was a murder-suicide by her father, Robin Brown, as an act of revenge over a long-standing custody dispute.
According to a report, Brown took his daughter to a cliff in the conservation area and, after an extensive search, he and Keira were found dead at the base of the 100-foot cliff by emergency crews.
The search for them began after Brown stopped answering calls and text messages.
Keira had been ordered into her dad’s care unsupervised despite many red flags and warning signs.
Oakville-North Burlington MP Pam Damoff spearheaded the private members bill that was tabled by Liberal MP Anju Dhillon. Kagan’s legacy will live on by expanding education for judges on domestic violence.
The bill will establish and enhance continuing education seminars for judges on matters related to intimate partner violence and coercive control.
Bill C-233 will also introduce into the Criminal Code the electronic monitoring control in some cases at the judicial interim release phase which is under section 515 of the Criminal Code.
Members of Keira’s family will (virtually) join MPs on Parliament Hill for this historic moment.
