It’s been more than a year since Jason Gaudreault’s girlfriend was brutally killed, but the pain is still raw.
“Every day is tough,” he said as he wiped away tears. “Raising these kids on my own, you know, trying to be a dad.”
Gaudreault is now the primary guardian for Tatjana Stefanski’s two children after the Lumby, B.C., woman was killed in April of 2024.
The 44-year old’s body was found on a forestry road just outside of the small North Okanagan community.
Her ex-husband, Vitali Stefanski, was charged with second-degree murder and is is currently awaiting trial.
Despite his grief, Gaudreault has been vocal about intimate partner violence and the changes needed to save lives.
He started the Tatjana Martin Foundation of Hope, which is currently seeking more board members, to help identify gaps in the system in an effort to push for change.
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“It just sickens me that there’s … no protection for people, no proper protection,” Gaudreault told Global News.
Tatjana Stefanski expressed safety concerns before she was killed, as did Bailey McCourt.
The 32-year old mother of two young children was fatally attacked in a Kelowna parking lot on Friday.
Her ex-husband, James Plover, was charged with second-degree murder not long after.
“For every woman killed, there are thousands more living in fear,” said Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director with Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS).
On Monday, B.C.’s premier was asked what’s being done to tackle domestic violence in the wake of the most recent tragedy in Kelowna.
David Eby pointed to a recent report that the province will analyze to determine next steps.
“It was horrible cases like these that resulted in the attorney general asking Dr. Kim Stanton to take a deep dive into our criminal justice system and our support for victims of domestic violence to make sure they are as best supported as possible,” Eby said.
“We got that report a couple of weeks ago and will ensure that we are working with Dr. Stanton on implementation of recommendations.”
However, Eby pointed to the federal government, saying it’s Ottawa that must act.
“We’ve been pressing the federal government aggressively to improve our bail system to make sure that violent offenders are kept behind bars.” Eby said.
“We hope the federal government works very quickly to get that in place.”
Advocates, however, say the province has the power to also make potentially life-saving changes, pointing to things like risk assessments and school-based prevention programs as examples, as well as public awareness campaigns to promote community-based support services and increase their funding.
“The system drops the ball a lot and often doesn’t fill the gaps that community-based organizations do and so right now, that is a thing that can be done, that David Eby could literally do tomorrow,” MacDougall said.
Among federal changes, advocates say the Criminal Code must be amended so that femicide, the intentional killing of women, is its own specific offence.
In an email to Global News, Canada’s department of justice stated, “We are committed to protecting victims of sexual violence and intimate partner violence by making murder motivated by hate — including femicide — a constructive first-degree offence.”
Gaudreault said he’s vowing to continue the fight.
“I’m taking this fight to the end,” he said. “One life that we could save is so worth it.”
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