Alberta’s Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said on Thursday, June 16, 2022, that his office cleared a backlog of roughly 180 Clare’s Law applications by adding more staff to government threat assessment centres.

The addition came after Albertans complained that they had to wait for over three months before the centre could provide any information about whether their intimate partners could have a violent past.

During an interview on Thursday, the justice minister acknowledged the complaints and stated that his office understood that people wanted to know if they were at risk.

The United Conservative Party government enacted the Disclosure to Protect Against Domestic Violence Act last year. The legislation was named after Clare Wood, a woman killed by her ex-boyfriend. Wood was unaware of her partner’s violent past.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney believed that to fight the ongoing domestic violence crisis in the province; the right to know and ask were crucial preventative measures.

According to the province’s most recent Family Violence Death Review Committee, there were 165 deaths caused by domestic violence from 2011 to 2020 alone. Moreover, most victims were in a relationship (common law or spouse) during their deaths.

With the new law, people at risk of domestic violence can visit government threat assessment centres to get information about whether their partner has a history of domestic violence.

The Integrated Threat and Risk Assessment Centre (ITRAC) reviews requests. It provides relevant data to local police, who are responsible for meeting applicants to inform them if their partner poses a high or moderate risk of violence.

The new legislation lets cops proactively provide data about an individual’s criminal history to their partner if that person is at risk. 

The government introduced the law as a way to combat domestic violence. It allows citizens to get information about their partner’s criminal history without them knowing. 

In January 2022,159 of 372 applicants received word from the centres. Now, with the added staff, more applicants have received crucial criminal history details of their partners. 

According to the minister’s press secretary Joseph Dow, the government has received 440 submissions to sift through, and police have given information to 320 people. He added that police agencies are busy relaying information to 80 more applicants.

According to the ministry, the government wanted to get the information and compile it for each case four weeks after getting an application.

The minister said that the centres had a substantial backlog of applications and that the workers assessed cases by severity. That meant some requests went unexamined for months before ITRAC workers began searching for information.

Shandro said that some, but not all, of the information the police gave away includes past criminal convictions.

Jan Reimer, an executive member of the charity organization Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS), said the group had been helping clients file their applications. She said Albertans waiting up to four months to get information wasn’t news and were experiencing delays with the process.

She suggested that instead of waiting for information from ITRAC, people who are concerned or afraid of their partner should seek help. She reiterated that if they feel unsafe, they should take action immediately.

In 2018, the organization said that victims who use its shelters were more at risk of being hurt or murdered by their partners. ACWS uses a danger assessment questionnaire to determine their clients’ risk levels.

Reimer said women were saying in the assessment that their partners had hurt them, choked them, or threatened them with a gun.

Andrea Silverstone, executive director of Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society, said Clare’s Law was crucial to combat the domestic-violence crisis in Alberta. 

She believed that the issue was too significant to be ignored and that the government must put as many pieces of legislation, resources, and policy in place to address the problem.

Reimer and other advocates for women’s safety also noted hurdles that prevent people at risk from filing applications or getting information about their partners.

To help keep vulnerable people safe, Clare’s Law applicants can now receive information online, which is more discreet than talking to a police officer in person. Reimer acknowledged that development was a welcome change. 

But applicants are still required to sign a confidentiality agreement to get information about their partner’s criminal past.

Reimer believed that this step could be a barrier that might prevent people at risk from getting the help they need.

Shandro also acknowledged that the centres and police officers must be careful when disclosing any information about criminal records. He said he welcomed any feedback from the Council of Women’s Shelters.

Aside from Alberta, Saskatchewan is the only Canadian jurisdiction with the same law. 

Suppose you or a loved one is a victim of domestic violence. Reach out to family law attorneys or divorce lawyers in Toronto or other cities in Ontario and Alberta. With their help, you can receive the legal advice you need to protect yourself.