Posts Tagged ‘Divorce Act’
Judicial education on intimate partner violence
Bill C-233 is moving to Second Reading in the House of Commons on Friday, April 29, 2022. A central component of this Bill involves judicial education on the issue of intimate partner violence. Known as Keira’s Law, this aspect of the Bill honours Keira Kagan, a four-year old girl killed by her father in an…
Read moreAfter She Leaves
It’s here! On April 25, 2022, Luke’s Place launched its updated After She Leaves online training and resource manual for new and experienced workers supporting women involved in the family court system. Both the online training and resource manual cover changes to the Divorce Act and Ontario’s Children’s Law Reform Act (CLRA), as well as…
Read moreMaking new law: Damages for abuse
I don’t often read a family court decision that makes me jump for joy, but a recent decision by Justice Renu Mandhane of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice did just that. In this case, Justice Mandhane recognizes a new tort of family violence and awards the wife $150,000 in damages for the pattern of physical and…
Read moreBuilding consistency
Canada’s Constitution Act, in sections 91 and 92, clearly sets out federal and provincial jurisdiction over different aspects of family law. The feds handle divorce, including any corollary issues such as parenting arrangements, child and spousal support and division of property raised in the context of an application for divorce. To provincial – and, by…
Read moreBest interest of the child under the new Divorce Act: Video
All court decisions relating to children are made using what is called the best interests of the child test. This means that courts must focus on what is best for children as opposed to considering so-called rights or interests of either parent. The Divorce Act and most provincial/territorial legislation provide criteria for courts to use…
Read moreCTV: Calls for a unified family court system and further changes to Canada’s Divorce Act
CTV News recently spotlighted the changes in Canada’s Divorce Act, interviewing the Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross. Among other revisions, the new Act includes a definition of family violence as it relates to the best interests of the child. From the article: “We’re very unhappy with the way the language around decision-making responsibility is…
Read moreWebinar recording: Ontario’s new Children’s Law Reform Act
Ontario recently significantly revised its family law that deals with custody and access, the Children’s Law Reform Act, to align it with the federal Divorce Act. In this presentation, you will learn about the changes, with a focus on their impact on women fleeing abusive relationships. This is another in the series of webinars on family law…
Read moreBill 207: Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act
On September 24th, Ontario’s Attorney General Doug Downey introduced Bill 207, the Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act. This Bill is the province’s long-anticipated follow-up to the federal government’s 2019 changes to the Divorce Act, which are to come into effect on March 1, 2021. For that reason alone, Bill 207 is important because,…
Read moreWill Canada’s new Divorce Act keep women and children fleeing abuse safe? The gaps – Part 3/3
The revised Divorce Act, coming into effect on July 1, 2020, offers both pros and cons for survivors of family violence. The pros outweigh the cons, and create the potential for parents who have left an abusive relationship and who use the federal statute to establish parenting arrangements to be better served by the law…
Read moreWill Canada’s new Divorce Act keep women and children fleeing abuse safe? The cons – Part 2/3
While the amended Divorce Act will, without question, materially improve the situation of those fleeing abuse (if they use the Divorce Act to resolve parenting issues), it is not perfect. This article explores two criteria in the best interests test, the decision-making provisions and the emphasis on out of court dispute resolution, all of which…
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