Left to right: Anastasia Kuzyk, Nathalie Warmerdam and Carol Culleton, who were murdered by their previous intimate partner,Supplied
Three months after an inquest into a rural Ontario triple femicide, anti-violence advocates are pressing the provincial government to commit to the jury’s recommendations, which included declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic and imposing a raft of policies designed to prevent similar deaths.
The jury in the three-week inquest into the murders of Carol Culleton, Nathalie Warmerdam, and Anastasia Kuzyk made 86 recommendations – most of which were directed to the Ontario government. Such recommendations are not binding.
The province has said little about if or when it plans to implement any of the recommendations, saying only that the government will continue to review and consider them. The government has until December to respond to the coroner’s office, but those on the front lines of the anti-violence sector say it’s been long enough.
“I think the reality is that the Renfrew murders happened seven years ago,” said Erin Lee, the executive director of the Lanark County Interval House, a shelter for women and children fleeing violence. “Many communities have been waiting for a response for a long time – and now the gift of solutions has been provided.”
Ms. Culleton, Ms. Warmerdam and Ms. Kuzyk were murdered at their homes by a mutual ex-partner on a shooting rampage across the Ottawa Valley on Sept. 22, 2015.
Their killer, Basil Borutski, had a long history of violence against them and others. He had been deemed high risk in multiple assessments, was well known to local police, and was on probation at the time of the murders. Yet, he flouted court orders without consequence, continuing to own weapons and skipping the group counselling program he was mandated to attend.
Mr. Borutski was convicted in 2017 of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 70 years.
Last Thursday, an art piece dedicated to the victims was unveiled at Water Tower Park in Barry’s Bay, Ont., a small town in the county near where the murders occurred. Attorney-General Doug Downey attended the event, along with associate minister of women’s social and economic opportunity Charmaine Williams and local MPP John Yakabuski.
And while JoAnne Brooks, the co-ordinator for the Ending Violence Against Women Committee of Renfrew County (EVA), said members of the community were touched by their attendance, they were disappointed nothing tangible was announced.
“It’s time for government to make a response. We had hoped that we would hear when at the unveiling,” Ms. Brooks said.
She said she understands some of the recommendations are long-term. But others could be done immediately.
For example, the first recommendation is for the province to make a formal declaration of intimate partner violence as an epidemic. Another calls for a committee of government representatives and front-line anti-violence experts to oversee discussions and planning around the recommendations.
“That would be really important,” Ms. Brooks said of the committee. “It could definitely help to prod and encourage and make some noise about what needs to happen and when it needs to happen.”
The Attorney-General declined an interview request.
“The government will take the necessary time to review and properly consider these important recommendations,” Natasha Krstajic, Mr. Downey’s communications director, said in an e-mail.
Lawyer Kirsten Mercer, who represented EVA at the inquest and helped to draft the recommendations, was also disappointed that no firm action was announced at the event.
“Government can move quickly when it wants to. And when it doesn’t move quickly, it’s because it’s not choosing to,” Ms. Mercer said. “We know that some of these recommendations are not the work of a season. Some of these recommendations are the work of a decade. But what we need is to see real evidence of movement, rather than just assurances.”
She too feels that the implementation committee could and should be put in place now, before discussions get underway.
“The government needs to be bringing front-line folks into the process,” Ms. Mercer said.
“We must balance the expertise of policy makers with those who do the hard and heartbreaking work of accompanying those who live with violence every day. Trying to keep them safe. To keep them alive.”
Ms. Mercer said she has counted 16 femicides in Ontario since the inquest began in early June. Just last week, 22-year-old Chandanpreet Kaur was stabbed to death inside a Mississauga Canadian Tire. Her 26-year-old husband, Charanjeet Singh, is charged with first-degree murder.
Ms. Lee said she is waiting for the declaration that intimate partner violence is an epidemic.
“I think doing so, it would send a very strong message to communities that there is serious response,” she said. “We don’t need any more research. We don’t need any more discussion. We really need to take action … what are we waiting for?”