Mr. Brian Killoran:

From an immigration perspective, when we ask the question of what can be done to address the issue there is an added level of complexity with regard to dependencies. If somebody's immigration status is dependent on a continued relationship, it can exacerbate the element of control and fear that may exist for somebody trying to leave. In other jurisdictions, dependency of status may exist for a very limited time but after that the person would get his or her own independent immigration status. That would be six or 12 months later. We do not follow that route and we keep the process going for years. Dependency in immigration status is a massive element of control within domestic violence examples where immigration status is an issue.