New Brunswick·NewA New Brunswick judge has called on lawmakers to change the Criminal Code of Canada to strengthen the sentence for men who kill women.Calls for longer period before a person can seek parole after killing partner Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Aug 15, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoCourt of King’s Bench Justice Fred Ferguson, shown sitting in Fredericton, on Monday called on lawmakers to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to strengthen the punishment for men who kill women. (Catherine Harrop/CBC)A New Brunswick judge has called on lawmakers to change the Criminal Code of Canada to strengthen the sentence for men who kill women. Court of King’s Bench Justice Fred Ferguson, speaking during a murder sentencing in Miramichi on Monday, said sentences “do not reflect our abhorrence for what … happens to too many women at the hands of their partners.” Ferguson said the “unacceptable frequency with which women meet their demise at the hands of men that they loved and live with, or love and have relationships with,” is one of the most important issues that’s not been dealt with in Canadian law. Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser told the National Post in June he’s “open” to adding femicide to the Criminal Code. There are various definitions of femicide, but it broadly refers to the killing of a woman because of their gender or sex.Ferguson, who said he’s not sure exactly what the federal government may propose, said it wouldn’t be sufficient to add another provision requiring judges to account for the relationship between a perpetrator and victim during sentencing. “It seems to me that if Parliament is doing its job for women in this country, 53 per cent of our population, it would find some way to create a clause for the Criminal Code that would have a presumptive bottom, well beyond 10 years, before which the accused can apply for parole in a case in which they’re sentenced to life imprisonment,” Ferguson said. “And that that presumptive bottom would be somewhere around 15 years and that would be subject to rebuttal by evidence that would be compelling that would say that shouldn’t be the bottom.”Kristal LeBlanc, CEO of the Courage Centre, says she shed a tear reading the judge’s comments. (Victoria Walton/CBC)The Criminal Code’s sentencing principles already call for judges to consider whether an offender abused their intimate partner as an aggravating factor.Ferguson’s comments appeared to refer to convictions of second-degree murder, which results in a sentence of life in prison and involves a judge determining parole eligibility starting between 10 and 25 years.First-degree murder results in a sentence of life with no chance of parole before 25 years.CBC News asked the Department of Justice Canada for a response to Ferguson’s comments.A statement from spokesperson Katelyn Moores said the federal government is looking at treating hate-motivated murders, including femicide, as first-degree murders. The Liberals promised in the spring election to make that change.”This work is ongoing, with consultations underway with key stakeholders across the country, and more will be shared in due course,” Moores wrote. ‘I shed a tear reading it’The judge’s words were welcomed by Kristal LeBlanc, the CEO of the Courage Centre in Shediac. The organization offers counselling, support, and housing for victims of family violence and their children. LeBlanc, who sometimes goes to court as part of the centre’s justice facility support dog program, said it’s not common to hear comments like those Ferguson made.”I think that speaks to the tides changing,” LeBlanc said in an interview. “I was proud to see it. I shed a tear reading it because I feel like Justice Ferguson stands with women, stands beside us.”LeBlanc hopes his comments help result in changes to the law. “I’ve talked to too many families who have lost their children to acts of femicide. They want to use the term femicide because they truly believe that that is how they lost their child,” LeBlanc said. “And I think now the least we can do is respect the loss of these families and protect future women from acts of femicide.”The judge said he was speaking because he may not get another chance before retiring. It’s not the first time Ferguson has called for more to be done to address men killing their intimate partners.In a 2021 decision, he wrote, “courts have not yet fully adapted to considering that this type of crime is too prevalent in Canada, that abuse of intimate partners, former intimate partners or family members can no longer be a mere consideration and that this factor warrants closer scrutiny and emphasis at the time of sentencing by the sentencing judge when such relations lie at the centre of a crime.”His comments Monday came as he sentenced Billy Joe Stewart to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years, a sentence jointly recommended by the Crown and defence lawyers. Ferguson noted Stewart, 44, had 84 convictions on his criminal record that started just months after he turned 18. Several convictions related to assaulting and threatening to kill Natalie LeBlanc, his partner of 10 years, over the years before he killed her by strangling and hitting her with a hacksaw in May 2024.Felt ‘constrained’ during sentencing, judge saysAt several points during Monday’s sentencing hearing, Ferguson referenced being “constrained” to imposing the recommended sentence by previous Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada rulings.A 2016 Supreme Court decision says judges should follow recommended sentences in most cases. Ferguson said a New Brunswick Court of Appeal ruling, called Nash, established the range for parole eligibility for second-degree murder around 15 years, depending on certain factors, which has generally been followed since in cases across the province.”I felt constrained by Nash. I still feel constrained by Nash,” Ferguson said Monday.ABOUT THE AUTHORShane Magee is a Moncton-based reporter for CBC.
New Brunswick judge calling on lawmakers to strengthen punishment for femicide
