Thank you very much. It's a privilege to be here to address the question of the increase in the number of unified family court judges in Canada to 75.
I am a law professor at Queen's University. I've worked in the family justice field for 40 years as a lawyer, researcher, and teacher. I'm here in an individual capacity, but I've also been involved with the Canadian Bar Association and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Ontario Chapter, which are all supportive of the increase in the number of unified family court judges and, indeed, the expansion of the unified family court.
I am from Ontario, but I have also spoken, recently, to family justice professionals in Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador. I believe there is broad support in those jurisdictions, as well, for the expansion of the unified family court.
Having unified family courts will be both a more efficient way of delivering justice, and deliver better justice to families and children. It would also fulfill the mandate letter—or a portion of the mandate letter—that was given to the Minister of Justice at the start of her term.
As many of you probably realize, there is an ongoing crisis in family justice in Canada. There are enormous complaints about access to family justice, and concerns about the quality of family justice. Expanding unified family courts will help address that issue.
The first unified family court in Canada was established in Hamilton in 1977, and a feature of the unified family court includes a comprehensive jurisdiction, having specialist judges, and having appropriate support services in place, including mediation and assessment, access to children's lawyers, and so on.
In particular, by having more judges and having appropriate legislation, it will be comprehensive family law legislation, which will reduce the cost that is now incurred in the case where there is concurrent jurisdiction. It will also eliminate one unnecessary level of appeal, which we now have in many provinces, including much of Ontario.
Having unified family courts recognizes that family law is a distinct area that needs a special approach to legal justice. It will, and does, have a distinctive mission, philosophy, and rules, but of course, it's also governed by the legal process and legislation.
In particular, having unified family courts will facilitate case management by specialist judges who know what they're doing. It will help parents and litigants focus on the needs of children, and will result in more settlements.
The process we'll be going through will involve some new appointments, of course. Some of them will be people who are now in the provincial courts in various provinces, who will become unified family court judges. There will also be some new judges. One of the things about moving some of the judges from the provincial court to the unified family court is there'll be some financial savings for the provinces. I understand there are commitments from Ontario, and I assume other provinces, that those costs savings will be plowed back into the family justice system, which badly needs additional services.
Having unified family courts, and expanding them is a very important step toward improving the quality and accessibility to family justice. There are, however, certain other things we need to see. One of the issues to be addressed, and I believe this should happen, is that unified family courts should have jurisdiction over criminal cases that raise family violence issues, the less serious ones, and also deal with youth justice. This is the way the original family court was established in Hamilton in 1977, and that should be a model elsewhere, although I know that's contentious.
There are certainly other issues in terms of funding. We need more funding for family justice services, and in particular, there's a federal responsibility for family legal aid.
There are other issues to be addressed in the federal area of jurisdiction. Most notably, the Divorce Act, which was enacted in 1986, is badly in need of reform. It should become more child-focused, and deal better with issues of domestic violence.
Thank you for your attention, and I will be pleased to answer questions.