Goldie Ghamari - November 04, 2020


MOTION： MPP Ghamari asking the Ontario Government to include violence link training for Police


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Length

15 minutes

Words per minute

135.53175

Word count

2,118

Sentence count

79

Harmful content

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

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Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 Madam Speaker, I move that in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should
00:00:09.680 continue to improve community safety by incorporating the training that is needed to recognize the
00:00:15.220 link between animal abuse and human violence to all police officers as defined in Section
00:00:21.060 2 of the Police Services Act and any other persons who would benefit during the course
00:00:25.880 of their duties by receiving such training.
00:00:44.040 I rise today not just on behalf of the people of Carleton but on behalf of the people of
00:00:52.000 Ontario, those who have been victims of domestic violence and abuse, those who have suffered
00:00:58.480 in silence because they have pets and they can't leave their pets.
00:01:04.960 And also, Madam Speaker, I stand for those who have been victims of homicide and serial
00:01:13.340 killers and those whose violent tendencies started with animals and progressed to humans.
00:01:22.940 Despite a steady decrease of crime rates in Canada over the past two decades,
00:01:27.580 the most recent general social survey on victimization from 2014 shows that at least
00:01:33.180 5.6 million Canadians are still victims of crime each year. Women are at an increased risk of
00:01:39.500 violent victimization compared to men. The overlap between animal abuse and other forms
00:01:46.540 of violence, particularly child maltreatment and intimate partner violence, has received
00:01:52.000 increased attention in the past decades. Although the relationship is not causal, the correlation
00:01:59.460 is reliable enough to suggest the importance of early intervention in order to prevent
00:02:05.620 violence against humans and animals and other antisocial criminal behaviours.
00:02:13.000 Given the co-occurrence of animal abuse and violence towards humans, it is important to
00:02:18.420 develop interventions for individuals who abuse animals, for the sake of both animals
00:02:24.600 and humans.
00:02:26.160 And that is why I'm wearing a little pin, Madam Speaker, with a picture of my dog Baxter
00:02:30.460 on it, because I know that animals are not allowed in the legislature, but he's here
00:02:34.780 Madam Speaker, the Canadian Violence Link Coalition was formed as a result of a number
00:02:42.600 of issues brought forward at the 2017 National Violence Link Conference.
00:02:49.100 The Violence Link brings together allies engaged in anti-violence work with vulnerable people
00:02:54.920 or animals who are committed to advancing awareness, education and training about the
00:03:00.860 link between violence against humans and violence against animals. The Coalition's goal is to
00:03:07.420 introduce prevention and intervention strategies across the country and to establish policies and
00:03:13.980 practices that make communities safer. The relationship between violence against animals
00:03:20.300 and people is commonly known as the violence link. Evidence-based research shows violence against
00:03:27.100 animals and violence against people are not distinct and separate problems. Rather, they are
00:03:33.140 part of a larger pattern of violent crimes that often coexist. Partner abuse, gang violence,
00:03:40.420 youth crimes, assaults, homicides, sexual assaults, and child abuse all have high percentages where
00:03:47.820 animal abuse is present. An actual incident where identifying animal abuse may have saved lives was
00:03:55.720 in the Parkland shooting. Another incident, which I think everyone might be aware of,
00:04:01.400 is a Netflix documentary that was released earlier this year, Madam Speaker. The documentary
00:04:08.300 is entitled Don't Mess With Cats on the Internet. If you haven't seen it, I encourage everyone
00:04:15.400 to watch that documentary, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the core members of the coalition
00:04:22.140 planning team include Sergeant Tina Stoddart of the Ottawa Police Service, who also happens to
00:04:28.580 be a constituent of mine. Sergeant Tina Stoddart first reached out to me back in the spring,
00:04:35.920 explaining about the Violence Link Coalition, what their mandate is, and what they're doing.
00:04:42.980 As soon as we spoke, Madam Speaker, I knew that this is something that I had to advocate for,
00:04:48.580 Not just on behalf of all people in Ontario, but also animals in Ontario.
00:04:55.520 And Madam Speaker, when I did a little bit of research, I found that the Violence Link Coalition is not just active in Ontario, but across Canada.
00:05:05.080 And Sergeant Tina Stoddard has actually created a course that is being used to train all Ottawa police officers, the recruits.
00:05:16.080 And so prior to graduating, Madam Speaker, all the recruits get this training.
00:05:21.220 She's also done this training for police services across the province, across Canada, and even internationally.
00:05:29.180 And she has received various letters of support for this violence link training,
00:05:34.400 and I'd like to read a few of them, Madam Speaker.
00:05:36.960 The first one is from the Ottawa Police Association.
00:05:40.260 President Matt Scoff writes,
00:05:41.940 I am writing on behalf of the Ottawa Police Association, which represents 2,000 sworn and civilian police personnel in the City of Ottawa.
00:05:50.560 Without reservation, the OPA supports the proposal for violence-linked training of police personnel.
00:05:57.320 This training is a critical tool assisting police personnel in the recognition of the link between animal abuse and human violence.
00:06:05.580 The OPA is in support of the motion that further improves community safety by incorporating violence-linked training into the Police Services Act.
00:06:15.420 Another letter from Bruce Chapman, who is president of the Police Association of Ontario, where President Chapman writes,
00:06:22.480 the PAO unreservedly endorses the violence link training proposal developed by Ottawa Police Service Sergeant Tina Stoddart,
00:06:30.380 which aims to provide police personnel with the tools needed to recognize the link between animal abuse and human violence.
00:06:40.800 Another letter of support from the Canadian Police Association, President Tom Stamatakis wrote,
00:06:47.080 I am writing on behalf of the Canadian Police Association, an organization that represents over 60,000 frontline civilian and sworn police personnel across Canada.
00:06:57.740 The CPA is pleased to endorse the violence link training proposal put forward by Ottawa Police Service Sergeant Tina Stoddart,
00:07:04.820 which gives police personnel the tools necessary to recognize the link between animal abuse and human violence.
00:07:11.580 This effort being made by Sergeant Stoddart is a perfect example of the leadership and initiative shown by professional police officers in this country.
00:07:22.180 In reviewing Sergeant Stoddart's materials and presentation, I have found her to be both a passionate and effective advocate for this particular training.
00:07:31.120 And I believe that if widely adopted, it would provide police personnel in any service with a broader perspective when conducting investigations.
00:07:40.040 a perspective that will certainly help to discover hidden signs of domestic violence, both against animals and humans.
00:07:49.400 Madam Speaker, I'd like to take a little bit of time now and review some of the literature regarding violence-linked training,
00:07:57.380 because, as I mentioned earlier, Madam Speaker, the evidence might not be causal,
00:08:02.420 but there are definitely signs and indications of correlations between animal abuse and domestic violence.
00:08:10.040 There's a literature, and in the literature, Madam Speaker, it says in instances of domestic
00:08:16.980 violence where there is a pet in the home, higher reports of animal abuse are commonly
00:08:22.740 documented.
00:08:24.340 Post-hoc studies of women in emergency shelters show that 44 to 89 percent of survey participants
00:08:30.580 who owned pets stated that their abuser threatened to hurt and or hurt and or killed their pet.
00:08:38.100 one shelter study using a control group of women who had not experienced this sort of violence
00:08:46.080 found that women residing in a domestic violence shelter were nearly 11 times more likely to report
00:08:52.400 animal abuse than their counterparts pet abuse is also a sign of more severe domestic violence
00:08:59.340 not only is the co-occurrence of pet abuse and domestic violence significant there is mounting
00:09:05.420 evidence showing that pet abuse in the home is linked to a higher quantity of domestic violence
00:09:11.600 incidences and the presence of more severe abusive tactics. This consists of a complex range of
00:09:19.760 controlling behaviors that include any combination of physical, emotional, sexual, and economic
00:09:25.820 maltreatment, as well as isolation, blaming, intimidation, threats, and or minimizing denying
00:09:32.460 behaviours. Other methods of psychological abuse may involve inflicted harm or threatened harm to
00:09:40.060 a victim's pet and forcing intimate partners to engage in bestiality. There have been a few
00:09:46.220 reasons identified for why men harm and kill companion animals, including demonstrating
00:09:53.180 or confirming their power, expressing rage, punishing and terrorising their partner,
00:09:58.300 teaching submission and discouraging women from leaving. Madam Speaker, those police officers who
00:10:05.780 have received this violence link training have all reported about the positive benefits and the
00:10:11.680 impact that this has had on them. In situations where they have attended a potential domestic
00:10:17.380 violence incident with colleagues that have not had the violence link training, those who have
00:10:23.360 been trained, we're better able to identify signs of potential domestic abuse or violence
00:10:29.900 based on signs from the animal, Madam Speaker.
00:10:34.320 As we all know, unfortunately, animals cannot speak.
00:10:38.140 They cannot share their experiences.
00:10:39.900 They cannot share what they're going through, so it is up to us and it is our responsibility
00:10:45.140 to make sure that we are trained to look at the signs, to understand the signs, and to
00:10:50.500 make that correlation.
00:10:52.340 something doesn't pass the sniff test, Madam Speaker, then it should be investigated further.
00:10:57.880 And those police officers who were trained and equipped with the tools they needed to recognize
00:11:02.480 this were better able to not just protect those animals, but protect and help those victims of
00:11:09.280 domestic violence as well, Madam Speaker. A large proportion of the literature on the violence link
00:11:15.220 derived from retrospective surveys completed by women at emergency shelters for victims fleeing
00:11:20.760 domestic violence. This literature has shown that concern for the well-being of their companion
00:11:26.600 animals can affect the help-seeking behaviour and subsequent actions of abused partners.
00:11:32.800 And it has been found that women in these situations often delay leaving an abusive
00:11:37.400 home or do not leave at all for fear of their pet's safety. In a study of female clients at
00:11:43.720 a New Zealand emergency shelter, 60% of participants said that they delayed leaving their home to
00:11:49.560 protect their pets. And, Madam Speaker, that's why my motion here today is not just seeking
00:11:55.820 training for police officers, but also any other prescribed personnel who could benefit from this
00:12:02.400 training. And that would include animal inspectors or veterinarians or any other prescribed profession
00:12:10.600 within the regulations or as a minister deems appropriate, who would be dealing with animals
00:12:17.460 on a daily basis and who could maybe understand those signs and identify that and reach out
00:12:24.040 to further authorities.
00:12:26.380 Madam Speaker, I want to thank Sergeant Tina Stoddart for bringing this important training
00:12:31.540 to my attention.
00:12:32.340 I want to thank the House for listening and for speaking to this motion today, and I want
00:12:39.100 to thank as well everyone who's supporting this.
00:12:42.660 Thank you.
00:12:47.460 turn to the member who has two minutes for her reply
00:12:53.300 thank you madam speaker i wanted to thank the member for brampton east for for rising and
00:12:59.060 speaking and and supporting this motion i think ultimately madam speaker um protecting
00:13:06.260 not just humans but animals it's it's a non-partisan issue and so i'm thrilled that uh
00:13:11.940 the member and the entire NDP will be voting in favor of the motion that I have presented.
00:13:18.420 I also wanted to thank the member from Peterborough Kawartha for his comments as well.
00:13:26.980 It was incredibly moving and when he brought up Jun Lin's name, it sent shivers down my spine
00:13:35.220 because he would have been alive today,
00:13:40.140 but for the fact that no one took those online videos
00:13:45.720 of that serial killer murdering kittens seriously.
00:13:52.500 And just like the member from Peterborough, Kawartha,
00:13:56.060 or God's country, as he likes to say,
00:13:59.180 also mentioned, Madam Speaker,
00:14:02.240 we'll never know who we're saving.
00:14:05.220 because this is a proactive approach however the literature review and all the studies
00:14:13.300 have been retroactive because that's the only way that they can determine the numbers
00:14:18.780 is through pre-existing victims and so i think madam speaker we have an opportunity
00:14:23.840 to make sure that there are no more victims or at that at least the numbers are lessened
00:14:30.140 so that we don't have any more Jun Lins and any other people who are victims of that kind of violence.
00:14:40.500 Madam Speaker, I just want to thank everyone again. 0.99
00:14:43.520 I also want to thank the Solicitor General for her support of this motion
00:14:48.360 because I did mention to her that I'm bringing this motion,
00:14:52.100 and she was thrilled, she was excited, and she said go for it.
00:14:57.240 and I'm looking forward to working with her and the government of Ontario
00:15:01.880 to see what we can do to support our police officers
00:15:05.840 and our victims of domestic violence.
00:15:08.300 And finally, Madam Speaker, I just want to end off by saying
00:15:11.040 that the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
00:15:15.720 A famous quote by Gandhi.
00:15:17.480 Thank you, everyone.
00:15:18.140 The time provided for a private member's public business has expired.
00:15:29.080 Ms. Gamari has moved Private Member's Notice of Motion No. 116.
00:15:32.640 Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion is carried?
00:15:36.440 I declare the motion carried.