Ontario’s associate minister responsible for women’s issues says she does not support formally declaring intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic, arguing the label oversimplifies a complex, longstanding crisis.
For years, advocates, survivors, and experts have urged the Ford government to make the declaration, saying it would create urgency and unlock resources to address rising rates of IPV. After initial resistance, the Progressive Conservatives sent an NDP-backed bill to committee in early 2024 to study the matter, hearing emotional testimony from survivors.
But Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity Charmaine Williams now says such a declaration is not the right approach.
“History has shown intimate partner violence has been here for decades,” Williams told Global News. “It is not something you can make go away because there are so many different factors that drive it. That’s why we know it’s systemic and deep-rooted.”
She said calling IPV an epidemic would be “disingenuous,” suggesting the term implies a short-term crisis with a simple fix.
“We believe intimate partner violence is deep-rooted… it’s not something that just pops up requiring short-term solutions to address it,” she said. “You can’t make intimate partner violence go away.”
Opposition calls response an excuse
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused the government of backing away from meaningful action.
“We don’t make excuses and wipe our hands of it,” Stiles said. “Making excuses like that is beneath the minister.”
Calls for the declaration stem in part from the Renfrew County coroner’s inquest into the murders of three women in 2015, which recommended naming IPV an epidemic among 86 proposals to prevent future deaths.
The Ford government initially rejected the idea, arguing epidemics are infectious diseases, and later delayed a decision pending committee review. Critics argue the government is avoiding the financial commitments that could come with such a declaration.
“Intimate partner violence is an epidemic — the government knows it,” Stiles said. “Declaring it would mean they’d have to assign more resources.”
Nova Scotia formally declared IPV an epidemic in September 2024.