Finance committee  Undoubtedly. That's one thing the unified family court is trying to do. It's trying to have staff members who can help guide them through and hold information sessions. That's so important. It's so foreign, not just to the indigenous population but to everybody, to go to a court.

Finance committee  You won't believe this, but in 1986 I clerked at a court in the Northwest Territories and wrote a paper on custom adoption. For those who don't know what that is, it is the indigenous way of dealing with the adoption of children outside of the formalized process of the courts. Judge Sissons in the north, who was the first judge in the north—he was a white man's judge, if I can put it that way—recognized custom adoption.

Finance committee  Yes. Professor Bala has his hand up.

Finance committee  Committed.

Finance committee  Then again, I'll defer to Professor Bala because he's studied this more than I, but the way the courts are set up, the unified family courts are supposed to be more welcoming, as it were. They're set up with support systems that would allow for either parent, or either person going through a divorce, to have more information, to have information sessions, to go through mediation, and to have a more understanding system that is supposed to address some of those issues.

Finance committee  Sorry, I would like to add something. I just finished a report on Legal Aid and the Law Society's relationship with it. We went through a long consultation with academics, with various institutions, and what Professor Bala says was proven out. Both at the federal and provincial levels, the statistics are really not there, which is causing a real problem when you want to try to do evidence-based policy-making and try to get academics engaged in areas so they can move the dial from a social perspective.

Finance committee  I think at one level it's purely a coordination issue—there hasn't been a coordinated effort. There is a concern that some courts don't release their data, that the amount of data that's available isn't there. One of the criticisms is that the data is not that accurate. Well, do you want to solve the data problem?

Finance committee  First of all, I think you have to have political will. So it involves the provinces. It involves the feds, because they'll have statistical data. You can't do it without the academy, because the academics are the ones who are going to do the research. Institutions like the Law Society, which probably wouldn't have a significant amount of data, can actually provide a significant facilitating role, because we can bring people together if people wish to come together.

Finance committee  I am well, Mr. Sorbara. How are you?

Finance committee  Yes. The hope is, and I think it is shown in the unified family courts that we have, that it will be managed better so that it is less expensive and less time-consuming. Family law is a very emotional issue that takes a lot of resources. One of the challenges is to re-imagine somehow our family law system at some point in time, because it has taken an emotional toll.

Finance committee  All I would say is that a lot of this is concerning a fundamental change, and the fact we're here at the finance committee talking about it is a good thing. It always amazes me that we don't have public debates around family law. If I ask how many of you around this room know someone who was convicted of a criminal offence, you are probably going to say that you don't.

Finance committee  I'll hop in there before Professor Bala, who I know will have insightful comments as well. The reality of the unified family court is that first, it's one-stop shopping. It allows for the litigant, self-represented or otherwise, to go to one court. Second, what has happened, and Professor Bala can probably speak in more detail, is that over the years a specialization has developed, and not just in the courtroom.

Finance committee  Yes, we need the insurance brokers between us. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon to the committee. My name is John Callaghan, and I'm a bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, where I serve as chair of the government and public affairs committee. As most of you know, the Law Society regulates, licenses, and disciplines Ontario's more than 50,000 lawyers and more than 8,000 licensed paralegals.