As domestic violence death toll mounts in N.S., calls come to fund support agencies

HALIFAX — Experts on domestic violence say a series of deaths in Nova Scotia over the past three months highlight the need to improve funding for the programs that battle the root causes of intimate partner violence.

The latest deaths came on New Year’s Eve, as 39-year-old Matthew Costain allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend, 40-year-old Cora-Lee Smith, and her father, 73-year-old Bradford Downey, before being found dead from a self-inflicted gun wound.

Nova Scotia’s legislature declared domestic violence to be an “epidemic” in September, yet since then there have been four women murdered, along with Downey. All cases involve a perpetrator who died by suicide after allegedly killing their female partner.

Emma Halpern, the director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia, said the deaths across the province are a clear sign that formal declarations must swiftly be followed by specific actions.

“Domestic violence is an epidemic, so now what? It’s not enough to just name it,” she said Saturday in an interview.

“We have to properly resource the people with the expertise to figure out the solutions. It can’t be an issue of the moment, with a few hundred thousand dollars thrown at women’s shelters and then walk away.”

Halpern points to the recommendations of the commission of inquiry that investigated the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history, which claimed 22 lives in April 2020 and began with the gunman’s violent assault on his common-law spouse. The inquiry also heard the killer had a long history of domestic violence.

“Very few of the recommendations (on domestic violence) have actually been taken up,” said the lawyer and advocate. “Let’s commit to actually following through on all of the commission’s findings.”

Those recommendations include a call for “core,” long-term funding for centres that assist victims and treat perpetrators, rather than leaving the shelters and counselling agencies to seek renewable grants from the province.

Halpern said housing is also a key issue for people facing violence from partners. She said her agency — which assists vulnerable women and their families — often has to place women and children on waiting lists.

In addition, there’s an urgent need to create resources where women can report “red flags and risks happening in relationships” and receive help, rather than turning to the police, she said.

“What I see all the time, working with survivors of domestic violence, is that they don’t want to go to the police, because this person they love is just going to be harmed by this system,” she said.

During hearings in 2022, the commission of inquiry heard testimony from Katreena Scott, a clinical psychologist at Western University, who said her review of research indicated that abusive men can be helped with treatment. In light of this and similar testimony, the commission recommended that governments “prioritize prevention…including interventions with perpetrators.”

Robert Wright, director emeritus of the non-profit Peoples’ Counselling Clinic in Halifax, said Saturday the killings of Smith and Downey are “a tragedy all around,” and further emphasize the urgent need for men’s programs like the one his agency provides.

Wright, an African Nova Scotian social worker and therapist with decades of experience, said without addressing the root causes of male violence — including abuse they’ve suffered themselves as children or teenagers — the number of domestic violence deaths are unlikely to fall.

“We need to unpack the tragedy…so many Black families are experiencing because they don’t get access to the right resources to keep their young men on the right track from an early age, and they end up in tragic circumstances,” he said in an interview.

Court records indicate that Costain was a repeat offender with 20 years of involvement with the criminal justice system in Ontario, where he grew up.

That included a 2014 conviction in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for three counts of possession of firearms. In his sentencing decision, Justice Michael Quigley noted Costain was addicted to drugs and grew up in an abusive household.

“The home was not fractured, but his father was an abusive alcoholic and his mother was frequently hospitalized. It appears that his mother was bipolar. It appears he is bipolar as well.” The legal document also said Costain fathered his first child when he was just 14 and had two further children since then.

Wright said there must be “a massive, whole-population campaign,” that provides intensive treatment to help violent men deal with their addictions, mental health problems and past abuse.

In a statement provided last week, Becky Druhan, Nova Scotia’s attorney general, said the latest deaths are a reminder of the “critical need” to address the issue of domestic violence.

“While progress has been made, we know there is more to be done,” she wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2025.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press