Family violence rising in the province: Legal Aid Alberta

Alberta is continuing to see an increase in family violence according to Legal Aid Alberta (LAA), and it’s only gotten worse because of the pandemic.

In 2021, LAA says there were 2,267 applications for Emergency Protection Orders (EPO) opened.

The province says an EPO is granted by the court and enforced by the police when:

• violent or threatening behaviour occurs between family members
• there is evidence that immediate protection is necessary
• family violence will resume or continue
• The police can apply for an Emergency Protection Order to provide you with immediate protection

LAA says these orders force violent family members to stay away from or stop contacting whoever applied for the EPO, which often means the abuser must move out of the shared family home.  

“The majority of individuals filing EPOs are women, and most of those are women with young children,” said Christina Riddoch, lawyer at LAA’s Edmonton office. “They’re trying to escape an abusive husband or boyfriend – a situation that may have been exacerbated by isolation requirements or stay-at-home orders during the pandemic.

“Financial strain, job loss, the cost of living – this can all lead to the emergence of family violence.”

Riddoch adds there are some men who apply for EPOs despite the majority of requesters being women.

“Elder abuse is becoming more of an issue. We’re seeing an increase in situations where an adult child or stepchild is abusing their elderly parent – something that could be the result of the cost of living becoming harder to manage,” Riddoch said. “So, we’ve been working in tandem with support services for elder abuse victims to try and help get these vulnerable people out of these situations.” 

READ MORE:

• Alberta to lift remaining COVID-19 public health restrictions

• Canada’s COVID-19 Alert app to be scrapped this week: Sources

• Nearly 1 in 4 homeowners would have to sell home if interest rates rise more: Survey

  ---

Although pandemic restrictions in Alberta have been lifted, Riddoch says the number of applications for EPOs aren’t dropping.

“When I started at Legal Aid Alberta back in 2007, assisting with EPO applications, I was seeing maybe four or five a day,” Riddoch said. “Now, we’re seeing up to 14 EPO reviews per day. That’s exponential.” 

Because of the high rate of EPO applications, courts in the province have opened an Urgent Matters Chamber where lawyers are given 90 minutes for EPO reviews as opposed to the usual 30 minutes. 

Riddoch adds the way things are going, Alberta is on track to see another increase this year.

Shilpi Walia, an LAA lawyer working at the Calgary office, says LAA has a way to assess how much danger an EPO applicant is in when they receive a request. 

“There’s a four-tier scale: variable danger, increased danger, severe danger and extreme danger,” explained Walia. “Over the last year, we have seen an increase in extreme danger cases.” 

Walia adds cases categorized as ‘extreme danger’ usually involve weapons and/or physical and sexual abuse.  

“The most common form of physical abuse I see that results in an ‘extreme danger’ assessment is assault by strangulation – extreme danger because if claimants aren’t given support, this is something that could easily turn in to a fatality,” Walia said. 

For more information about the Legal Aid Alberta Emergency Protection Order Program, visit the website.