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Proposed Alberta bill would remove barriers for those fleeing domestic violence

Deborah Drever's Bill 204 is up for second reading debate in the legislature on Monday, when MLAs return to the provincial capital after a one-week constituency break.

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Independent MLA Deborah Drever is trying to accomplish the rare feat of passing a private member’s bill and in the process make it easier for victims of domestic violence to flee abuse.

Drever’s Bill 204 would amend the Residential Tenancies Act to allow domestic violence victims to break a lease early and without penalty. If a person can demonstrate they or their children are in danger, they can receive a signed certificate from a list of professionals — such as a judge, nurse, police officer or social worker — compelling the landlord to terminate the lease. The law would also effectively allow a victim to remove an abuser’s name from a lease.

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Drever said that while she knows it can be difficult to pass a private member’s bill — especially as an Independent MLA without caucus resources — she is optimistic she will receive support.

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“What benefits this bill is that it really is aligned with the NDP’s platform,” she said. “They really are trying to take action to end violence against women.”

The bill is up for second reading debate in the legislature Monday, when MLAs return to the provincial capital after a one-week constituency break.

Status of Women Minister Shannon Phillips said the bill has some “really good ideas in it.”

“Certainly, the spirit of it we support,” Phillips said. “We support having those conversations and we will work with MLA Drever moving forward. She’s got a really good issue here.”

Alberta ranks among the worst provinces for domestic violence. According to the most recent Statistics Canada report, there were 10,045 cases of intimate partner violence in Alberta in 2013 — a rate of 623 per 100,000 people and more than twice the national rate.

The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters recent annual report showed that while 10,205 women and children found haven at provincial shelters between April 2014 and March 2015, nearly twice that number — 19,251 — were turned away for lack of space.

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“It’s a challenge, so this bill is a certainly a step in the right direction,” said Jan Reimer, the council’s executive director. “It’s one piece of a very complex puzzle.”

But while the bill addresses an issue shelters have identified as a problem, women are at greatest risk of being murdered after leaving an abusive relationship, she said.

Landlords will need proper sensitivity training, she said. “Because so often, women aren’t believed. They can say these things, but (the response is), ‘Oh, yeah, right. You just want to break the lease.’ ”

Drever said she encountered stories like that while working on her bill through the summer and fall. In one case, a landlord wouldn’t allow a renter to break her lease because of abuse. She got out of the lease after her boyfriend broke a bottle over her arm and left her with visible injuries.

“That’s the wrong message we are sending to people here in Alberta,” Drever said.

Notley suspended Drever from the New Democrat caucus weeks after the spring election when of a series of inappropriate photos and social media posts surfaced online. But the premier left the door open for the rookie politician’s eventual return to the fold with the stipulation the Calgary-Bow MLA committed to tackling issues of violence against women and homophobia.

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Drever’s bill seems to lay the groundwork for her return.

“She’ll be back in caucus, I have no doubt. And I think a good way of measuring that is if the private member’s bill passes,” said Duane Bratt, a political observer and chairman of policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

Bratt said while Drever is an Independent, she has voted with the New Democrats and lobs the government softball questions in question period and at committees.

“All the signs are there that she’s going to come back into the NDP,” Bratt said.

But that decision isn’t Drever’s to make.

“It’s up to the premier. My main focus right now is just working on this bill,” she said.

mibrahim@edmontonjournal.com

twitter.com/mariamdena

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