The Ontario government took steps to address gender-based violence last week but stopped short of declaring it an epidemic — and one Kingston-area politician took a stand on the matter.
The government announced new shelter and survivor support funding on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, and supported language recognizing gender-based violence as ‘endemic’ — meaning long-standing, pervasive, and systemic. The government did not support declaring it an ‘epidemic,’ which would have carried additional policy and funding expectations.
Each November, Ontario marks Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention Month to raise awareness about violence against women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals. The observance began in the 1980s as Wife Assault Prevention Month and was later renamed Woman Abuse Prevention Month in 2005, reflecting broader recognition of domestic violence. Over time, the focus has expanded to include all forms of gender-based violence, emphasizing prevention, education, and support for survivors.
On November 3, the government announced more than $26.7 million in new funding to protect survivors of gender-based violence. The funding will expand access to emergency shelters, including rural and Indigenous-led facilities, and support programs such as the Family Court Support Worker program. In Kingston, Resolve Counselling Services will receive $65,000 annually for the next three years, while its Napanee location will receive $81,250 annually, for a combined investment of $438,750 over three years to help survivors navigate the legal system and access community supports.
On Wednesday, Nov. 5, two key motions were presented to the Legislative Chamber. Charmaine A. Williams, Progressive Conservative (PC) MPP for Brampton Centre and Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, sought unanimous consent for a motion recognizing intimate partner violence as endemic.
Intimate partner violence is “a prevalent form of gender-based violence,” according to the Government of Canada.
The motion passed unanimously, affirming that the problem is long-standing and systemic.
Later that day, Lisa Gretzky (New Democratic Party, Windsor West) proposed a motion to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, reflecting the language used by the 2022 Renfrew County Inquest into the 2015 triple femicide of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk, and Nathalie Warmerdam. The jury produced 86 recommendations for system changes that the province and other public bodies could implement. Since then, more than 50 municipalities have followed that inquest’s recommendation.
Gretzky’s motion did not pass, as a single PC member opposed it.
But it was a local provincial parliamentarian, himself a member of the PC party, who then rose in the legislature to speak in personal terms about a motion directing the Standing Committee on Justice Policy to review and table its report on Gender-Based Violence.
On Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, Hastings-Lennox & Addington MPP Ric Bresee picked up the debate, emphasizing that the ‘endemic’ designation enabled the Standing Committee on Justice Policy to conduct a thorough review and transition from testimony to tangible action.
Bresee highlighted findings from the Standing Committee’s review that heard from over 150 individuals, including 60 survivors and 90 expert witnesses, pointing to the pervasive nature of gender-based violence and the need for systemic interventions.
Bresee described how gender-based violence affected his own life, explaining how generational learned behaviour in his family perpetuated violence.
“My mother, the victim of violence, became a perpetrator herself. My siblings and I shared violence with each other. Violence repeats through generations unless intentionally interrupted through structure, education, and empathy,” the MPP said.
“I loved my father. The world saw him as intelligent and caring, but he was also violent. That is what trauma does — and why this work matters so deeply.”
He also acknowledged his privilege as a cisgender male, saying, “I can walk to my car at night without fear. My wife cannot. My transgender daughter definitely cannot. Most women and most non-binary people live with a quiet vigilance that most men never experience. They measure their freedom in daylight and distance. This constant mental calculation is exhausting.”
“This is not theoretical. It shapes where people live, what jobs they take, whether they go out at night, and whether they tell the truth about who they love,” Bresee stated.
“As a cisgender man, my duty is not only to refrain from violence but to challenge it; to model respect; to call out harm; and to design systems that make safety the norm. Allyship is not a label — it is a practice.”
The former mayor of Loyalist Township concluded with bullet points on necessary action.
“Violence is not a series of isolated incidents. It is a predictable outcome of poverty, trauma, addiction, housing insecurity, and gender inequality. Prevention works. Early intervention works. Education, especially with boys and men, works. Frontline workers are exhausted. Data fragmentation hides both progress and danger,” said Bresee.
He outlined three areas of work to be done:
- Support for survivors: Stable, trauma-informed, culturally safe, accessible supports across all communities.
- Accountability and change: Justice systems require capacity, training, risk assessment tools, and effective enforcement. Rehabilitation for those who cause harm is a form of prevention.
- Education and cultural change: Violence is prevented when young people learn empathy, boundaries, and respect in schools, sports, workplaces, and community life.
Bresee went on to say emphatically, “We must measure this. Without shared data, we cannot see progress or risk. Prevention must be coordinated across government and communities.”
“Passing this motion is not the finish line. It is the beginning of disciplined implementation. Ministries can align priorities, establish metrics, and build a coordinated prevention framework. Communities can plan. Partners can act.”
Debate on the motion will continue in future sittings of the Ontario legislature.
While the Ontario government stopped short of declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic, the passage of the endemic motion and new funding commitments signal an intention to address gender-based violence. Advocates and policy-makers will be watching how the Standing Committee on Justice Policy uses its review to transform survivor testimony and expert recommendations into programs and long-term solutions across the province.
Bresee’s speech underscores the personal and societal stakes: addressing gender-based violence requires sustained commitment, accountability, and the courage to confront both history and everyday realities, ensuring that survivor voices lead to tangible, systemic change.
