Latest news with #BillC-332
Calgary Herald
10 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Accused killer Devon Malik's stalking charge to be heard Sept. 5 in Okotoks
Article content Murder suspect Devon Bradley Malik will be back in an Okotoks courtroom on Sept. 5 to face a stalking charge of the same woman he is accused of fatally shooting. Article content The lesser criminal harassment charge for Malik, who also faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of his ex-girlfriend Madisson Cobb, was included on an Okotoks Court of Justice docket Friday morning. Article content Article content Article content Defence counsel Jason Wuttunee, appearing as Malik's agent, told the presiding judge that he has not yet been retained by the accused to be his lawyer. Article content Article content Malik, 26, remains in custody at the Calgary Remand Centre and was excused from appearing via video link on Friday. Article content 'He has other matters that are in court that week in Calgary, so we're hoping we'll be able to make progress by the next date,' Wuttunee said. Article content The accused faces a May 30 charge of criminal harassment for allegedly stalking Cobb, who had taken out a restraining order against him after the couple broke up. Article content But Malik also faces a homicide charge in the July 19 death of Cobb, who was fatally shot in a parking garage off MacLeod Trail S.W., near the eye clinic she worked at. Article content Article content At the time of Cobb's shooting, Malik was under a court order not to have contact with the 23-year-old or attend her place of employment. Article content Cobb had been granted an emergency protection order after filing an affidavit in Calgary Court of King's Bench in June, stating that she feared her ex-boyfriend after the two broke up in January. Article content In the wake of Cobb's death, her family has been vocal about the need for stronger laws to deter intimate partner violence. Their e-petition calling for Parliament to revisit Bill C-332, an act to amend the federal Criminal Code, has garnered more than 4,200 electronic signatures.
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Family of woman allegedly killed by former boyfriend start petition for stronger federal action on domestic violence
The family of Madisson Cobb, a 23-year-old woman who was fatally shot on July 19 in a Calgary parking garage, are petitioning for stronger legislation around intimate partner violence. Article content The petition, started by Cobb's cousin Taylor Matusik, urges parliament to revisit Bill C-332 which, if passed, would amend the criminal code to include an offence of exercising coercive control of an intimate partner. Article content Article content Article content The petition states that Cobb was failed by 'the system designed to protect.' Prior to the murder, Cobb had taken out a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, Devon Malik, who has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with her death. Article content Article content 'If laws stay the same, more and more innocent people are going to die, and are going to suffer more and more at the hands of their partners,' the petition reads. 'If we fight for a change, and fight for Bill C-332 in honour of my cousin, Maddie, we will be able to help save and better protect people, including young women and their children.' Doug King, a professor or criminal justice at Mount Royal University, said the law would provide an additional layer of protection to those who have a restraining order against a former intimate partner, on top of protections that are already in place — as well as stronger punishments. Article content Article content 'There are other dimensions in the criminal code to provide protection, but the proposed law is particularly targeted to address issues related to violence against women and children,' King said. Article content Currently, the maximum punishment for criminal harassment or utterance of a threat is five years of incarceration, but Bill C-332 proposes a maximum of 10 years. Article content 'Going to a 10-year punishment is a signal that … the notion of coercive control of intimate partners is a serious problem,' King said, 'and it's also a signal that what we're doing right now isn't working very well.' Article content Starting in 2023, Bill C-332 passed through three readings in the House of Commons, and two in the Senate. However, because parliament was prorogued in January, the bill won't necessarily just be picked up where it was left off. Article content Bills that have not yet received Royal Assent are terminated when parliament prorogues, and must either be reintroduced — meaning the process will start over — or they can be reinstated by a unanimous decision in the House of Commons.
