‘gabie renaud’ law would let quebecers see police files on intimate partners

the new fréchette government tabled a bill on wednesday that would allow someone to find out from police if a current or former intimate partner has a documented history of violent or abusive behaviour.the main purpose of the bill, introduced by domestic security minister ian lafrenière, is "to allow the communication of information concerning an intimate partner who could pose a risk to the safety of the person or the person's child."it allows a victim to be informed of conditions attached to monitoring imposed as part of a release order, a probation order with supervision or a conditional prison sentence, and to know the area where the offender resides.the bill is inspired by clare's law, implemented in the united kingdom in 2014 and named for a woman killed by an ex-boyfriend known by police to be dangerous. several canadian provinces have since adopted similar laws. in april, a coalition of women led by québec solidaire spokesperson ruba ghazal, called on the government to take concrete action to prevent future femicides. quebec premier christine fréchette asked lafrenière to present a quebec version.

although anyone can experience intimate partner violence, victims are generally women, the government noted in its announcement: in 2024, 76 per cent were women. in 2025, statistics canada reported a sharp increase in femicide by a former or current intimate partner: 81 in 2024, up from 53 in 2023. there have been 10 suspected femicides in quebec since the beginning of 2026.the coalition had wanted the law named for gabie renaud, the 43-year-old victim of a suspected femicide who was found dead in her st-jerôme apartment last september, the province's 12th suspected femicide that year. jonathan blanchet, who had at least six convictions related to conjugal violence, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.at a press conference following the tabling of the bill, martine biron, minister responsible for the status of women, said gabie renaud represents many women and "the law will not be personalized. there are so many victims."but at an emotional press briefing held by women who had campaigned for the law, they called it the gabie renaud law.ghazal said "a gabie renaud law is truly a concrete and real way to assure that woman are protected" and that there is not another femicide."behind the word femicide there is a woman, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend, an entire family — destroyed," said gabie renaud's sister, rachel renaud. "there are children who will grow up without their mother. there are birthdays that will never again be celebrated the same way. there are chairs which will alway be empty.""we will remember her forever. and she's helping other women with a law with her name on," she said. she said the law represents a possibility "of preventing, a possibility of protecting, a possibility of saving lives. ... the gabie renaud law will allow women to better know a partner's violent background and to make informed decisions for their safety."she said she hoped the coalition avenir québec and opposition parties set aside partisan lines and the bill is passed into law before the national assembly breaks for the summer "because the safety of women should never be a political issue."under the new law, information shared would involve intelligence gathered by police: 911 calls, complaints or police reports about violence, lafrenière said at the press conference. a theft reported 20 years ago would not be included, but information about fraud involving intimate partners could be shared, he said. he said priority would be given to files referred by police or emergency shelters.once the information is provided to the person who requested it, that person will also be offered personalized support and directed to appropriate resources as needed, lafrenière said: the goal is to provide all the necessary tools for people to make an informed decision about their relationship, not to be judgmental or to impose a decision on them, he said.justice minister simon jolin-barrette acknowledged that giving someone information police have of an intimate partner's criminal antecedents violates that individual's right to privacy but, in this case, he said, it is justified.the work of the sûreté du québec will be to gather the relevant factual information, which will be sent in turn to women’s organizations, biron said."we will designate some organizations, which will do the analysis of the factual information and then meet with a potential victim and then do follow-up. the police work is centralized and it is factual work, but the analysis and meeting with the partner will be left to women’s organizations."the bill is intended as an additional mechanism to complement measures already in place to combat femicide and intimate partner violence in quebec — "a supplementary tool," she said.she said programs implemented to help victims of intimate partner violence have "saved many lives." these measures include personnel specializing in conjugal and sexual violence being added to police forces and anti-proximity bracelets, and electronic geolocation devices used to prevent a person accused or convicted of an offence related to conjugal violence or sexual abuse from approaching the victim; since 2021, 1,500 of these bracelets have been used.jolin-barrette said there have been more than 100,000 free consultations with the rebâtir line, a specialized legal advice service in quebec for victims of sexual or domestic violence that provides up to four hours of free consultation with a lawyer for victims to discuss legal issues related to the violence they have experienced.rapid intervention units and crisis units to assist victims of conjugal violence have been introduced all over quebec; funding has been increased to emergency shelters, 21 second-stage shelters have been opened, and emergency financial assistance has been provided to quickly relocate victims of sexual or conjugal violence who wish to leave a dangerous environment, said biron.but for all services available to victims, distressingly, she said none of the victims of the 10 suspected femicides in quebec this year had reached out to organizations available to help victims of intimate partner violence.intimate partner violence is complicated, said biron: it is known that, on average, a victim leaves a toxic relationship seven times before staying away for good, she said.it is encouraging to note, however, that younger women are coming to emergency shelters and that the subject is being discussed among friends who pressure victims to leave, biron said.said jolin-barrette: "if this new law prevents even one tragedy, it will be a victory." sschwartz@postmedia.com