EIGHT THINGS THAT THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SAYS THE NEW DIVORCE BILL C-78 WILL DO

Canadian Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould tabled legislation on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 which, if passed, would introduce a number of changes to federal family laws.

Bill C-78 is officially known as An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act.

This is the  first major update to Canada's family laws in 20 years with the stated goal of Strengthening and modernizing Canada’s family justice system.  The proposed legislation is designed to meet four key objectives:

* Promote the best interests of the child

* Address family violence

* Help to reduce child poverty

* Make Canada’s family justice system more accessible and efficient

Clearly these are laudable goals, but I plan on studying the proposed changes carefully to see if we should expect any real changes on the ground.

The government claims the changes:

1) Move the system away from adversarial language. In the words of the Minister "from what some have deemed adversarial language where there's a winner and a loser, to moving towards parenting, orders and parenting time that more specifically address the duties and responsibilities of parents themselves…" 

2) Introduces more "child-focused" language. Terms such as "custody" and "access" will be replaced with "parenting orders" and "parenting time."   

3) Focus more on the “best interests of the child.” This includes a list of factors that a court must consider when deciding what would be in the child’s best interest, including physical, emotional and psychological safety and well-being, among other factors such as linguistic, cultural, and spiritual heritage including indigenous heritage.

4) Will guide judges to give more weight or significance to family violence and a number of other codified factors in deciding parenting arrangements.

5) Encourage parties to use mechanisms other than the court system, such as family dispute resolution, mediation and collaborative law to resolve their disputes.  

6) Grant the courts and enforcement agencies more access to information about income levels of parents.  The bill permits an application to the Canada Revenue Agency when determining the appropriate amount for settlements both in and out of court, and when seeking to enforce child support payments.

7)  Make the family justice system more accessible and efficient.

8)    Help to reduce child poverty.

Like everything complex and nuanced, the devil may be in the details so I will reserve comment until I have thoroughly reviewed the bill.

Faisal Kutty, is an associate professor of law and director of the International LL.M. Program at Valparaiso University Law School and an adjunct professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. He is also a co-founder of KSM Law for which he serves as counsel. His articles appear frequently in the The Toronto Star, Middle East Eye, AlJazeera, The Express Tribune (Pakistan), Madhyamam Daily (India) and various other publications. His academic articles are archived at SSRN.

Follow Faisal on Twitter | @faisalkutty

Website: www.TheMuslimLawyer.com