FAMILY LAW

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The Government of Canada is still moving forward with Bill C-78 with two amendments and two new regulations. 

The date for the coming into force of most of the provisions in the Divorce Act (the Act) was fixed by order in council as July 1, 2020.

The consultation period will end on April 20, 2020.  Submissions must cite the Canada Gazette, Part 1 and be sent to the Family and Children’s Law and Policy Unit via email:

 fclpu-updfe@justice.gc.ca.

Amendments and new regulations can be seen in the Canada Gazette. 

Ontario's Attorney General is closely reviewing Bill C-78 (the federal Divorce Act)  to determine how it will impact Ontario’s family justice system, and what changes may need to be made in preparation for Bill C-78 coming into force.  

You can view FOLA's submission here

And you can view the  Family Law association for Middlesex here.  

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YOU CAN VIEW ALL FAMILY LAW SUBMISSIONS HERE.

UPDATE:  MAG REVIEW OF FAMILY AND CIVIL LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS, AND PROCESSES

During June and July 2019, Lindsey Park, MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to the Attorney General,  led a review of Family and Civil Legislation, Regulations, and Processes.  In addition to hosting consultation sessions across the province, the government accepted written submissions.

You can read FOLA's submission here.

You can read the TLA's Proposals for Family Law Reform here.

In September 2019, the Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, Jill Dunlop, announced the launch of an engagement with youth, families, caregivers, frontline workers and child welfare sector leaders to strengthen the child welfare system for children and youth. 

FOLA continues to monitor this and will notify members of any amendments.

Since the Family Law Action Plan was approved in December 2017, the Law Society has carried out a significant amount of work in the development of a licensing framework that will permit paralegals and others to assist the public with certain family legal services. The Family Law Working Group—a bencher group established by Convocation—is responsible for overseeing the development of the licence.

The first step in building the licensing framework is the determination of the scope of permissible activities. Consultation has been key to the development of that scope, which is ongoing.

For our most recent report, read our May 2019 Plenary Report on Family Law.

On May 13, 2019, Ontario's Attorney General announced 12 new judicial appointments to support UFC expansion to eight new sites: Belleville, Cayuga, Kitchener, Pembroke, Picton, Simcoe, St. Thomas, and Welland. Unified Family Courts now exist in 25 jurisdictions, which means more than half of the province’s population can now attend one court to resolve all their family law issues. 

In 2016, Ontario's Attorney General and the Law Society of Ontario Canada asked Justice Annemarie Bonkalo to undertake a consultation to "Expand Legal Service Options for Families". Included in this consultation was a proposal to allow paralegals and other legal service providers, such as law students or law clerks, to deal with certain family matters.  The Ministry consultation page can be accessed at this link.  

Justice Bonkalo's report was released to the public in February of 2017.

Upon receipt of the "Bonkalo Report", the Law Society undertook a consultation to solicit the views of stakeholders on the 21 recommendations made in the report. 

Our responses can be found in the reports provided by our Family Law Committee and Paralegal Committee.