Thank you very much for the invitation to present the Canadian Bar Association's views on Bill C-78 today.
Our submission represents the joint position of the CBA's family law section and the child and youth law section.
My name is Melanie Del Rizzo. I'm a family lawyer practising in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. I'm the current chair of the national family law section of the CBA. The family section represents specialists in family law from across Canada. With me is Sarah Rauch, who's chair of the child and youth law section.
The CBA is a national association of over 36,000 lawyers, students, notaries and academics. An important aspect of our mandate is seeking improvements in the law and the administration of justice. It's that aspect of our mandate that brings us here to you.
Our brief also includes input from other CBA sections, which I'll highlight. The French-speaking members and the constitutional and human rights law section highlight that Bill C-78 omits any provisions to address current linguistic inequalities in family courts. The bill provides an important opportunity to offer explicit recognition of French language rights in any proceeding.
The alternative dispute resolution section contributed to our comments on the bill concerning greater use of dispute resolution processes. Some aspects of the bill may seem contradictory, and we suggest some changes to strengthen the importance of ADR processes in resolving family disputes.
While our submission contains 45 recommendations, which we hope that you'll review, I should stress that we strongly support the passage of Bill C-78. Much of it would address long-standing CBA concerns. All recommendations that we have made are made with a view to make the bill better from the perspective of lawyers who practise in this area.
One of the most important parts of Bill C-78 is the confirmation that the best interests of the child remain the pivotal test in any parenting determination. The CBA has long opposed any presumptions in this area, which can only muddy the primary focus on the children's best interests. Given this primary focus, any presumption with respect to parenting of children and any concept of parental rights is misguided. Equal time with both parents is an option. It's already an option and is an increasingly popular option, but it is only appropriate if that arrangement is in the child's best interests. With respect to the social science, I would refer you to the tool kit the CBA has produced on parenting after separation and the “Child Rights Toolkit”, which provide good summaries of the social science in this area.
We support the list of factors relevant to determining best interests under proposed subsection 16(3). We offer suggestions to further improve and clarify those factors, including adding more direct language to protect a child who's been exposed to family violence.
We also support the bill's focus on the use of parenting plans, but we believe it could be clearer that they're not intended to be mandatory.
We also find that the bill could provide added clarity about how courts should assess parenting plans to ensure they are in the child's best interests, particularly when a parenting plan is on consent of both parties. We suggest that the parties at least be given an opportunity to respond to any of the court's concerns before a plan is varied.
Family violence is very relevant to determining a child's best interests. We commend the bill for including it in the best interests factors. We offer some suggestions in our submission to strengthen the family violence proposals. In proposed section 7.8, courts would have a duty to consider existing protection orders to facilitate a coordination of proceedings. Different rules and processes are in place across Canada and we note that some efforts are going to be required to ensure appropriate cross-referencing.
We appreciate and have also called for a list of factors in considering relocation applications. We recommended a few additions to the list in Bill C-78.
We also propose that a simple notice form be provided for relocation applications, perhaps with a place for a responding party to also note any objection or their consent. An even-handed approach to the process is only fair. The requirements for a party wishing to move should be similar to those for a party objecting to the move. We also support a longer notice period than that proposed in the bill to increase time for a mediated or negotiated solution and also to provide more time for people living in remote or rural locations to be able to access services. The ability to apply for a default order in cases where there is no objection should also be considered. Otherwise, we see a situation where a person could have a statutory right to move that could then be inconsistent with an existing order or agreement.
We also support the shifting burden of proof as proposed in the bill and the idea that a move is presumed to be in the best interests of children who have little to no relationship with the non-relocating parent. However, we note that children can have significant attachments to both parents even without equal parenting time. As such, the CBA sections recommend that the bill provide that relocation be presumed not to be in the child's best interests when it would likely damage the attachment to the left-behind parent.
We note that adequate funding must be available to ensure that federal, provincial and territorial governments can provide the services required by the bill, such as mediation, supervised access services and the communication between various levels and jurisdictions of courts with respect to civil protection orders.
My colleague will now highlight some other suggestions we have for improving the bill.