B.C. marks National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women at legislature
B.C. marks National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women at legislature
The British Columbia Legislature is framed by cherry blossoms as a pedestrian passes by in Victoria in this file photo. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The B.C. government will recognize the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with a candlelight memorial at the provincial legislature building on Tuesday evening.
The gathering will also be a memorial in honor of the 33rd anniversary of the Montreal Massacre at Ecole Ploytechnique, where 14 young women were murdered in act of violent misogyny.
Earlier Tuesday, Grace Lord, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, visited The Cridge Centre for the Family in Victoria.
She visited the facility while speaking on the province's Gender Based Action Plan that she is compiling.
The plan will weave together government and sector needs, and will help people access housing, services and justice for those who are navigating a range of issues, such as family violence, sexualized violence or brain injuries, said Lore.
RESEARCH INTO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
While at the Cridge Centre, Lore also spoke with the non-profit's CEO and staff members that work directly with women fleeing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
"A lot of those services are supported by donations," said Adam Richards, CEO of The Cridge Centre.
"There’s not a lot of funding in our community so having this engagement right now is really increasing that conversation," he said.
Brain injuries can have life-altering effects leading to cognitive, behavioral or mental symptoms.
The Cridge Centre says the need to support the program is crucial with one in three women in Canada experiencing IPV. Of the women that do experience IPV, 92 per cent will receive at least one brain injury, totaling more than 200,000 women nationally every year.
To put that into a different perspective, the Cridge Centre says for every one NHL player that sustains a concussion, more than 5,500 women will sustain the same injury.
"The reality is that we are only discovering just how big this problem or this need is in our community," said Richards.
"Therefore we know that as we start having this conversation, as more and more individuals recognize this need for service, we’re going to need service provision," he said.
Lore said that deepening the understanding of brain injury from IPV will be a key part of the action plan expected to be announced in fall 2023.
Richards said there are a few key issues he would like to see in the fall report.
"The women that we’re caring for, the families that we’re caring for, children that we’re caring for, have greater needs than just housing – they have greater needs than legal aid," he said.
"There’s a whole myriad of services they need. So as we have this conversation, as we start unwrapping the needs around this, the hope is we can provide wraparound services," he said.
Richards said those wraparound services will give individuals and families the best opportunity to move forward.
The candlelight vigil takes place at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the front steps of B.C. legislature.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
A suicide bomber who killed 101 people at a mosque in northwest Pakistan this week had disguised himself in a police uniform and did not raise suspicion among guards, the provincial police chief said on Thursday.
When the opera 'La Flambeau' premieres next week in Montreal, Black performers will be front and centre in an artistic medium where they have historically been under-represented.
In Washington progress on police brutality appears difficult, if not unlikely. Bipartisan efforts to reach an agreement on policing legislation stalled more than a year ago, and President Joe Biden ended up instead signing an executive order named for George Floyd, whose murder at the hands of Minneapolis police set off nationwide protests nearly three years ago.
A gay man issues a court challenge over Canada's policy restricting sperm bank donations, a Quebec woman is surprised to find her stolen car had been used in brazen Ontario robbery, and actor Ryan Reynolds drops by a Toronto college and surprises students. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
B.C.'s Ministry of Health is continuing its multi-year trend of paying millions more dollars each year to private surgical centres for the delivery of public health care, CTV News has learned.
Changes to the amount of time the public gets to voice their opinion during Surrey City Council meetings has caused controversy among former councillors.
Alberta's former chief medical officer of health has landed a new role in British Columbia. Dr. Deena Hinshaw was named a deputy provincial health officer for B.C. on Wednesday.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
Calgary police are looking for suspects involved in an altercation that lasted for approximately an hour, spanned several communities and ended with a gun being fired.
Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service officials are encouraging any local victims to come forward following the arrest of actor Nathan Lee Chasing Horse in Las Vegas on sex assault charges.
Canada's new special representative on combating Islamophobia has apologized for words that hurt Quebecers after leaders in that province called for her resignation.
Longueuil police (SPAL) arrested Gilles Croteau, 57, in the Saint-Hubert borough on Jan. 24 after an investigation that led to 31 arrests across Quebec for various sex offences, including child pornography possession and production.
A new 911 dispatch system in New Brunswick means that now fire departments aren’t getting dispatched to all medical calls leaving residents waiting and first responders in the dark.
The organization regulating medical care and services in Manitoba is apologizing for racism directed towards Indigenous people when accessing health care in the province.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
Wiarton Willie is set to make his spring prediction Thursday at 8:07 a.m. If the groundhog sees his shadow it will mean another six weeks of winter, but if he doesn’t, we could get an early spring.
A hearing is underway to determine if Udo Haan is not criminally responsible for the death of his wife Edra Haan, who was found in the aftermath of the 2018 house explosion in Kitchener, Ont.
Chief Mark Crowell made a presentation at a council meeting Wednesday justifying the proposed $214 million budget for the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS).
Connor Bedard has arrived in Calgary ahead of what's expected to be a completely full Scotiabank Saddledome when the Calgary Hitmen and Regina Pats square off.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
The British Columbia Legislature is framed by cherry blossoms as a pedestrian passes by in Victoria in this file photo. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
