WHEREAS the Council of the Municipality of East Ferris has been briefed by the Nipissing Region Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee on the issue of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) for the purpose of keeping abreast of issues relating to the safety and well-being of the community;
AND WHEREAS Council understands that East Ferris is not immune to IPV, and that community calls to the Ontario Provincial Police related to domestic disputes, which increased from 14 in 2016 to 26 in 2020 and then to 43 during the pandemic, are a corroborating indicator. Although these calls decreased to 21 in 2022, there was a slight increase in community calls related to sexual interference and sexual assault;
AND WHEREAS at the regional level in 2022 Nipissing District Victim Services received 475 calls for service for IPV and assisted 400 female victims of IPV as well as 39 children, who were harmed or witnessed IPV;
AND WHEREAS the Children's Aid Society opened 146 investigations into a child's exposure to domestic violence, representing 13.1% of the total call volume for the year;
AND WHEREAS 400 victims of IPV sought support from the Community Counselling Centre of Nipissing;
AND WHEREAS 201 people, or 31% of admissions to North Bay Jail, were the subject of a domestic violence alert and 7.8% of a sexual offence charge;
AND WHEREAS East Ferris Council recognizes that IPV is a serious problem affecting the health and well-being of girls, women and families and contributing to an unsafe community with additional strains on the health and social services system;
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT Council for the Municipality of East Ferris asks the East Ferris Community Safety and Well-Being Committee to incorporate the issue of IPV / domestic violence into its plan. It encourages the committee to explore ways to engage with community partners to educate and support our residents and thereby strengthen prevention efforts;
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT this resolution be forwarded to the Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Hon. Charmaine A. Williams, Minister Responsible for Women's Social and Economic Affairs, to the Hon. Parm Gill, Minister of Red Tape Reduction, and to Vic Fedeli, MPP;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT this resolution be distributed to the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, the North Bay Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.