JFCY intervened before the Supreme Court of Canada in a case that could reshape how Canadian law acknowledges family violence.
The Court found that a new tort of intimate partner violence should be recognized to address the harms caused by patterns of coercion and control.
As interveners, JFCY argued that children’s rights, views, and needs must be prioritized when addressing family violence. By putting forward children’s unique perspectives, JFCY sought to promote their dignity, agency, and access to justice in a system often focused on adult needs. At para 173 of their decision, the Court found that: “…the tort of family violence would impose liability on family members broadly, not just intimate partners. The wrongful conduct that the parties put before the trial judge relates specifically to intimate partnerships, not all family relationships. The broad definition employed by the trial judge would come at the expense of an understanding of the tortious conduct that reflects the particular relational dynamic between intimate partners raised by Ms. Ahluwalia in her proceedings. I take most seriously the idea, advanced by intervener Justice for Children and Youth, that parents who are violent with their children may, in some circumstances, be held to account in tort law, and the harm children experience is not merely incidental to intimate partner violence. But like the intervener, I see this abuse as preying on the particular vulnerability of children who are uniquely and distinctly harmed by family violence. For the present appeal, it is best to note that dependencies elsewhere in the family may give rise to a comparable kind of vulnerability experienced by Ms. Ahluwalia, but that the unique character of coercive control between intimate partners is deserving, on these facts, of recognition on its own. Intimate partnerships are predicated on a different intimacy, and a different idea of the family bond, from non-conjugal relationships between other family members. I would leave consideration of the impact of family violence on other family members to another day.” [emphasis added]
