Defeat of “Bill S-215, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Sentencing for Violent Offences Against Aboriginal Women)” in the House of Commons during the second reading on April 10, 2019. The Bill would have required a court to take Indigenous female identity into account during the sentencing of offenders.

Those “in favour” of Bill S-215:

NDP = 35; Green = 1; Bloc Québécois = 7 Liberals = 2; Conservatives = 0

This legislative defeat occurs at the same time as the imminent release of the MMIWG Final Report on the overrepresentation of Indigenous Women and Girls as victims of violent crimes. A 2016 report by Amnesty International found that “Indigenous women and girls suffer the highest rates of violence in Canada”