Justice Minister Brad Johns has handed in his resignation after controversial comments around domestic violence on the anniversary of the murders in Portapique.

During a media conference on Thursday, Johns stated domestic violence is not an epidemic in the province.

Johns told reporters there were bigger problems such as drugs and guns and those comments prompted calls for his resignation from both the Liberals and NDP.

Four years ago, Gabriel Wortman began a murderous rampage which began after assaulting his common law partner, it ended up resulting in the death of 22 people.

An inquiry into the devastation, called for intimate partner violence to be declared an epidemic among 130 recommendations.

“I accepted the resignation of Brad Johns as a minister in my cabinet,” said Premier Tim Houston. “Domestic violence is an issue our government takes very seriously.”

“We will continue to work with partner organizations to do everything we can to support the important work being done in response to the Mass Casualty Commission’s final report and in response to the ongoing epidemic of domestic violence across Nova Scotia and Canada.”

Johns later apologized for his remarks but many women’s advocacy groups expressed hurtful feelings about the situation.

The leader of a women’s shelter in Halifax summed it up by saying “words matter”.

Sheri Lecker is the executive director of Adsum for Women and Children and called the comments for all levels of government to declare domestic violence as an epidemic.

“Gender-based violence and intimate partner violence warrant a meaningful and sustained societal response,” she said. “We need leaders who understand that.”