“We had three, four special cases [….] it is sad. But we still had a lot of success with the anti-reconciliation bracelet,” insisted the minister on Tuesday, when questioned in the corridors of the National Assembly.
He returned to the story published in The sun the same morning, where a woman victim of domestic violence reported her bad experiences with the anti-reconciliation system and with certain workers.
For Audrey Van Houtte, the bracelet which aims to prevent her violent ex-partner from approaching caused her “just more anxiety”, rather than offering her a feeling of security.
Since she started wearing it, she has been asked on several occasions to change her habits to avoid her ex-partner, otherwise she was accused of not collaborating in the process.
The 31-year-old mother recounts, for example, having to be escorted out of the Galeries de la Capitale by police officers because her ex had gone there to shop at the same time as her.
The anti-reconciliation bracelet is an electronic geolocation tool which is divided into two parts. A bracelet that the offender wears on his ankle and an electronic device given to the victim. (Amélie St-Yves/Archives Le Nouvelliste)
François Bonnardel is saddened by the testimony of Ms. Van Houtte. “It’s unfortunate,” he agrees. I can understand the victim of this feeling perhaps forgotten in this case, but basically the anti-reconciliation bracelet does the job,” assured the Minister of Public Security.
Some 300 anti-reconciliation bracelets have been installed since Quebec began to impose them in certain judicial cases, in 2022.
#Canada
