Hi everyone, 

Today was the day our government voted on Bill C-223.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with it, this bill represents a major step forward in protecting survivors of intimate partner violence - and it directly supports the changes we’ve been fighting for in our petition.

Now it goes to committee for consideration for debate and voting, then third reading. 

After if it’s fully successfully in House of Commons, then it goes through three readings for debate and voting in Senate. 

If all goes well, it becomes law via Royal Assent by the Governor General of Canada 

What Bill C-225 would do:

• Create specific criminal offences for intimate partner violence. This means IPV would be treated as its own category under the Criminal Code, instead of being buried under general assault charges. It recognizes the unique danger and pattern of escalation that comes with abusive relationships.
• Stop police from releasing repeat IPV offenders. If someone has committed an intimate partner offence in the past five years, or is already on a release order, police would not be able to release them after another IPV arrest. This closes the loophole that lets dangerous offenders cycle in and out of custody.
• Allow courts to order high-risk IPV offenders into custody for a risk-of-reoffending assessment
  At any stage of proceedings, a judge could order an accused person to be held for a proper evaluation - one that looks at the escalation risk, patterns of stalking, coercive control, and threats. This is a massive shift toward prevention rather than reaction.
•  Extend the detention of seized items (like weapons) from 3 months to 1 year. This gives investigators more time, and it removes immediate access to dangerous items from someone who poses a risk.

Why this matters to our petition:

Our petition calls for stronger protections for survivors, earlier intervention, and for the justice system to stop allowing repeat abusers to hurt their partners again. Bill C-225 directly aligns with that mission - especially with the push to keep high-risk offenders from being released, and to recognize the escalating pattern of violence long before it turns fatal.

This vote is more than just legislation.

It’s a moment of recognition for survivors, families, and everyone who’s been fighting to make sure what happened to Maddie - and too many others….never happens again.

Today matters.

And your voices helped get us here.

Thank you all, seriously from the bottom of my heart. Let’s keep going, keep pushing and keep sharing YOUR stories. This is what is making a change in our country. We need to keep signing and sharing! SUPPORT GROUP

Lots of love, always.

Taylor Matusik