Georgina's Law, aimed at creating intimate partner violence strategy, expected to pass Senate

A private member's bill spearheaded by two people from Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to pass in Canada's Senate Tuesday, raising the stakes for a national strategy to prevent intimate partner violence.

Bill S-249, also known as Georgina's Law, would give Canada two years to create the strategy and require the government of the time to update all houses of Parliament on what actions have been taken to stop intimate partner violence every two years.

The bill's name refers to Georgina McGrath of Branch, N.L., an advocate who drew upon her own painful experiences to develop a plan for a national strategy, and who took her ideas to Conservative Senator Fabian Manning.

"There's no actual strategy nationally or provincially. So, you know, this sets the groundwork for something that really needs to be firmly put in place right across our country," McGrath told CBC News from Ottawa.

McGrath, a victim of intimate partner violence herself, told the Senate in April she faced constant physical, mental and emotional abuse for years — and a beating that almost took her life in 2014.

"After I got out of that situation and started to really look at what happened to me over several years of my life, I didn't feel protected. I didn't feel that there was anybody there to protect me," she said.

"I thought my life was over."

Effort underway for 7 years

McGrath and Manning have been working to move the bill into the House of Commons since 2017. The bill received second reading in March 2023.

Manning told CBC News the bill has "tremendous support", but the reading of the bill also comes at a time of government gridlock.

He said getting the bill through to a law could be tough, but says time is of the essence.

"Every six days in this country, there is a woman killed from [an] intimate partner," Manning said. "We will see it to the end. I promised Georgina that a long time ago."

McGrath said she'd be elated to see the bill pass through the Senate, and hopes it can pass through the House of Commons in the Spring.

Tuesday's reading is a long time coming, she said.

"There were times that I wanted to just walk away, because I have a good life now. And sometimes it's just easier to walk away. But when you pick up the phone or you receive a message from a victim and they thank you for what you're doing and that you're helping them…then that's what makes the difference," McGrath said.

"Everything takes so much time, but time is not something that we have when you're talking about the victims that are across our country. Or their families."

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.