Overview
For the first time in over 30 years, family law in Canada will receive a major face lift. Bill C-78 received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019 and represents the most substantial amendment to the federal Divorce Act since it came into force in 1986. The various amendments will come into force at different times, however, the most talked about changes relating to the parenting provisions of the Divorce Act are set to come into force on March 1, 2021.
In turn, Ontario introduced Bill 207, aptly titled the Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act, 2020, which received Royal Assent on November 20, 2020. This Bill amends multiple pieces of provincial family law legislation, most significantly the Children’s Law Reform Act (CLRA), and substantially incorporates the amendments contained in the federal statute. It is expected that the coming into force of many of these provincial reforms will coincide with the March 1, 2021 Divorce Act amendments.
The combined effect of these amendments is intended to modernize and clarify family law, as well as provide consistency and equal application of the law to married and non-married spouses and their children. In particular, the changes to the parenting provisions make it abundantly clear that the best interests of the child are to be at the forefront of any decision relating to parenting.
Key Amendments and What is to Come in this Blog Series
In this multi-part blog series, we will describe and offer commentary on the key changes to the parenting provisions of the Divorce Act and the CLRA and what they mean for lawyers, parties in family law proceedings, and the family law justice system as a whole. Our upcoming articles will address the key objectives of and amendments to the legislation, including:
- Replacement of the outdated parenting terminology of “custody” and “access” with “decision-making responsibility” and “parenting time,” and introducing the new concept of a “contact order” for significant non-parent individuals in a child’s life;
- Creation of a clear statutory test containing a non-exhaustive list of factors to consider with respect to the best interests of the child;
- Establishing a statutory framework for cases of child (or parental) relocation;
- Addressing family violence in the context of the best interests of the child by making it a mandatory consideration and providing a broad, clear definition of what behavior constitutes “family violence”; and
- Creating stronger duties on parties and legal advisers to consider and participate in an alternative family dispute resolution process.
In our next article, we discuss one of the most highly anticipated amendments: the replacement of the antiquated and often adversarial terms “custody” and “access” and the introduction of contact orders for non-parents. In relation to these changes, a hot topic is whether they will have the intended result of creating a more child-centered, less adversarial culture in family law.
While the answer to this question will remain uncertain until after the amendments come into force, we hope that you will continue to join us in this series as we explore these significant and long-awaited changes to family law.
