Should people have access to their partner’s violent history? Ontario is one step closer to making it happen

A motion that paves the way for an Ontario law allowing people access to information about a partner’s past charges or criminal convictions has been unanimously approved by all parties. In 2014, the British government implemented Clare’s Law, years after a young woman was killed by her partner who had a long history of abuse of which she was not aware. Several provinces now have their own versions, including Saskatchewan — the first in Canada — and Alberta. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rise in intimate partner violence, and an inquest into the deaths of three women in Eastern Ontario — all former partners of the same man — urged the provincial government to implement a Clare’s Law. Such information is shared confidentially, not in writing, and cannot be publicly divulged.