Goldie Ghamari - November 04, 2020


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

STATEMENT： New Public High School in Riverside South Press Conference： $26.6 million to build 256 new long-term care beds in Stittsville

Episode Stats


Length

15 minutes

Words per minute

135.53

Word count

2,118

Sentence count

79

People

Also mentioned:
Bruce Chapman Sergeant Tina Stoddard Tom Stamatakis Matt Scoff Jun Lins Jun Lin Carleton Gandhi Gamari

Harmful content

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Learn English with Madam Speaker of the Ontario legislature, Kathleen Parrott, who introduced a motion that would recognize the link between animal abuse and human violence, and calls for all police officers to receive training in the connection between the two.

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.