The Canadian Council of Muslim Women opposes the addition of “honor killings” to the Criminal Code on the grounds “murder is murder” and a special category could stigmatize new immigrants and some ethnic or religious groups. Opposition Liberal and New Democrat MPs and several legal experts also objected to such a change, floated by Rona Ambrose, federal Minister for the Status of Women, at a recent news conference.
Three law professors said the first-degree murder provisions of the Criminal Code already contain all the tools needed to prosecute and punish those who commit “honor killings” and they knew of no Canadian judge or jury who treated cultural family “honor” as a mitigating factor in sentencing.
