National Action on Intimate Partner Violence

Summary#

This bill, called Georgina’s Law, tells the federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth to keep leading national action to prevent and address intimate partner violence. It sets rules for yearly engagement with other governments and partners, and for public progress reports every two years (Bill, National action; Engagements; Report to Parliament).

• Requires the Minister to lead ongoing national action on intimate partner violence (Bill, National action (1)).
• Defines “intimate partner” to include current or former spouse, common‑law, and dating partners (Bill, Definitions).
• Requires yearly engagement with other federal ministers and provincial status‑of‑women ministers, and regular engagement with Indigenous partners, victims and survivors, and stakeholders (Bill, Engagements (2)).
• Engagements must start within one year after Royal Assent (Bill, Initiation of engagements (3)).
• Requires a progress report to Parliament within two years of Royal Assent, and every two years after, posted online within 30 days of tabling (Bill, Report to Parliament (1); Publication of report (2)).
• Does not create new programs, funding, offences, or penalties. It focuses on coordination and reporting (Bill, whole).

What it means for you#

• Households

  • No new direct benefits or services are created. Existing services continue under current programs. Data unavailable on changes to access or wait times.
  • Public progress reports every two years may make it easier to see what the federal government is doing on prevention and support (Bill, Report to Parliament (1); Publication of report (2)).

• Workers

  • Service providers, advocates, and researchers may be asked to provide input during regular engagements. Timing and format are not specified beyond “regular” (Bill, Engagements (2)). Data unavailable on how input will be gathered.

• Indigenous partners, victims and survivors, and stakeholders

  • The Minister must engage with you on program adequacy, partnerships, costs, and legal or jurisdictional issues. Engagement is ongoing, not one‑time (Bill, Engagements (2)).
  • Engagements begin within one year of Royal Assent (Bill, Initiation of engagements (3)).

• Businesses

  • No new requirements. Companies that provide services in this space may be consulted. Data unavailable on procurement or funding changes.

• Provincial, territorial, and local governments

  • Provincial ministers responsible for the status of women will be engaged annually on programs, partnerships, costs, and constitutional or legal issues (Bill, Engagements (2)).
  • No mandated actions for provinces or municipalities are set by this bill. Participation may require staff time. Data unavailable on workload.

Expenses#

Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• The bill includes no explicit appropriations, taxes, or fees (Bill, whole).
• It mandates ongoing federal leadership, yearly intergovernmental engagements, and biennial reports, which have administrative costs. No official estimate is published. Data unavailable.
• No Parliamentary Budget Officer analysis or fiscal note identified. Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Improves national coordination by requiring the Minister to keep leading action across governments and sectors, which can reduce gaps and duplication (Bill, National action (1); Engagements (2)). Assumes better coordination leads to better outcomes.
• Increases accountability through biennial reports to Parliament and online publication within 30 days, creating a public record of progress (Bill, Report to Parliament (1); Publication of report (2)).
• Centers voices of Indigenous partners and survivors by requiring regular engagement on program adequacy, partnerships, costs, and legal issues (Bill, Engagements (2)).
• Flexible and low‑burden approach because it does not force provinces to adopt specific programs or standards, respecting jurisdiction while keeping dialogue active (Bill, Engagements (2)). Assumes administrative work fits within existing resources.
• Timelines ensure momentum: engagements start within one year; progress reporting every two years keeps focus on implementation (Bill, Initiation of engagements (3); Report to Parliament (1)).

Opponents' View#

• Unfunded process mandate: the bill requires meetings and reports but provides no funding for new services or for provincial participation. Risk of diverting resources to administration rather than frontline support (Bill, whole). Assumes limited departmental capacity.
• No enforceable outcomes: there are no targets, performance measures, or consequences for lack of progress, so reports may not drive change (Bill, Report to Parliament (1)).
• Possible duplication with existing strategies and tables on gender‑based violence, creating meeting fatigue without added value (Bill, Engagements (2)). Data unavailable on integration with current plans.
• Jurisdictional friction risk: discussing “constitutional, legal or jurisdictional implications” yearly may surface disagreements without tools to resolve them (Bill, Engagements (2)).
• Reporting every two years may be too slow to adjust policy in a fast‑changing context; the bill does not require interim updates or data standards (Bill, Report to Parliament (1)).