NDP releases 121 recommendations to end Ontario’s IPV epidemic

QUEEN’S PARK — The Ontario NDP has released 121 recommendations charting a path to end Ontario’s intimate partner violence (IPV) epidemic. These recommendations are part of their dissenting report, following the government’s IPV report.

“Survivors and experts are tired of study after study with no government action, accountability, or even a timetable for implementation,” said MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre). “We have put forward a plan to end IPV, one that honestly reflects the voices of survivors who appeared at the Committee. The Ford government must now act to stop the rise of femicide that has happened on their watch.”

The report follows a lengthy committee study process created and controlled by the Ford government in response to the NDP’s Bill 173, the Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act, 2024, reintroduced this year as Bill 55. The NDP committee members cooperated with the three-phase process while advocating that the government enact the recommendations of countless high-quality reports.

“It is outrageous that this government continues to waste the time of survivors, experts in the field, and frontline workers by gaslighting them about their own calls for change,” said MPP Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West). “While sharing their deeply personal traumatic experiences, survivors and victims' families told this government to declare IPV an epidemic, but the Conservatives are twisting their words in an attempt to convince them that the status quo is acceptable.”

When the government report — written by one government member in a highly irregular manner — was presented to the committee, NDP MPPs tried to work within the process once again, before being forced to make the difficult decision to withdraw from a process that failed to respect survivors or subject-matter experts.

Major AI detection tools like GPTZero also flagged the government’s report as likely being largely AI-generated, and multiple sources cited did not exist upon closer inspection.

“To fully respect those survivor and expert voices, our dissenting report includes overlooked voices, 121 recommendations, and a clear executive summary, all in a digestible format,” said MPP Alexa Gilmour (Parkdale – High Park). “We urge the government to adopt these recommendations, starting with declaring IPV an epidemic as called for by the Renfrew County Inquest and recognized by 106 municipalities across Ontario.”

Read the Official Opposition Dissenting Report.

Read the Executive Summary of the Official Opposition Dissenting Report.