William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News

Domestic violence charges in Nunavut have been leading to fewer and fewer guilty verdicts, with 2023 seeing the lowest number of intimate partner violence convictions since 2011, Statistics Canada data shows.

Only 29 per cent of domestic violence cases in the territory resulted in a guilty verdict in 2023, the most recent year for available data.

It marked the second consecutive year where less than half of domestic violence charges resulted in convictions in Nunavut.

In 2023, 167 people were found guilty of intimate partner violence, while in 2019 there were 387 people convicted of the same charge.

Fewer guilty verdicts are being reached by the courts as the number of domestic violence charges has been increasing.

Between 2011 and 2022, domestic violence charges rose from 373 to their peak of 711, falling in 2023 to 616 intimate partner violence charges.

The number of stayed or withdrawn charges by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada nearly quadrupled between 2019 and 2023. In 2022, 58 per cent of domestic violence charges were stayed or withdrawn by the prosecutor’s office. In 2023, 70 per cent of cases were stayed or withdrawn.

The number of not guilty verdicts for domestic violence in Nunavut has never been higher than six in a given year, and happened just once in 2023.

Between 2011 and 2019, guilty verdicts were reached in 70 per cent of domestic violence cases in Nunavut, while stayed and withdrawn cases never reached 30 per cent.

According to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), it’s not their job to increase the number of intimate partner violence convictions.

“The role of the prosecutor is not to maximize convictions, but to conduct fair, independent and evidence-based prosecutions,” said Nathalie Houle, media relations advisor for the PPSC.

“The PPSC works closely with justice partners to support victims, assess cases early and proceed where the legal test is met, while respecting the rights of all parties and the realities faced by victims of intimate partner violence,” Houle stated.

Meeting the test

Houle said the prosector can only pursue charges in court if there is a reasonable chance of conviction and the prosecution is in the public interest. That criteria is laid out by a ‘decision to prosecute’ test. If the charges do not meet that test, then the prosecutor will decide to stay or withdraw the charges.

Houle said there is “no single most common reason” to stay or withdraw charges in intimate partner violence cases.

“Cases may be stayed or withdrawn where that test is no longer met, including where key evidence is unavailable or where proceeding would not be in the public interest, taking into account victim safety and well-being,” Houle said.

Nunavut News requested to speak with Victims Services at the territorial Department of Justice about why some victims chose to stop participating in prosecutions of their alleged abusers, but that request was declined.

“The Department of Justice does not comment on why a victim chooses not to participate in a prosecution against their abuser. The reasons for not cooperating can be varied, deeply personal and complex,” said Stephen Shaddock, director of policy and planning at the Department of Justice.

When asked about the steady decline in guilty verdicts and the increase in stayed and withdrawn cases, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada listed a handful of reasons, including an increased case load among Crown lawyers.

“Year-to-year fluctuations in court outcomes, particularly in a jurisdiction like Nunavut, can reflect a wide range of factors, including the size of the caseload, the timing of proceedings, witness availability and the unique challenges associated with remote and circuit courts,” Houle said. “As a result, changes from one year to the next should be interpreted with caution.”

RCMP’s role

Intimate partner violence charges are at the discretion of the RCMP in Nunavut, not the prosecutor.

“An increase in charges does not necessarily reflect changes in prosecutorial policy, but may be influenced by factors such as increased reporting, police charging practices and greater awareness of intimate partner violence within communities,” Houle said.

Alan Regel, defence attorney and partner at the Cooper Regel law firm, has another theory.

Regel suggested that Nunavut RCMP were increasing domestic violence charges due to an internal policy, driving down the percentage of convictions.

“The RCMP instituted a policy of laying charges whenever there is some evidence of a domestic assault. This is a very low threshold. That explains why there are so many charges,” Regel said. “The Crown operate on a different standard.”

But neither the RCMP policy nor the caseload explanation answer why the number of guilty verdicts declined over four years.

If increased charges from the RCMP and increased caseload reduced the percentage of convictions, then the actual number of convictions should remain relatively the same.

Instead, they fell to their lowest level in 12 years in 2023.

Nunavut News began requesting data on domestic violence court case outcomes in October.

The territorial Department of Justice referred Nunavut News to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

In turn, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said that they do not keep records on how many of their cases resulted in guilty verdicts nor how many charges they stayed or withdrew.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada said that Nunavut RCMP, the Department of Justice, or Statistics Canada would have the data.

Nunavut RCMP said the Department of Justice would have the numbers.

In the end, Statistics Canada provided Nunavut News with Intimate Partner Violence court case outcomes following a two month access to information request process.

Data on domestic violence court case outcomes in 2024 will become available in February, Statistics Canada said.

Learn more about our News Monitoring here.

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