It is a privilege to be here today to discuss certain elements of the bill.
Like my colleague Mr. Bala, I have worked in family law for a few years now and I've practised law for nearly 30 years.
My comments today will focus on dispute resolution, since that is the core of my practice. I am a parenting coordinator, mediator and arbitrator. I represent children, so I have some idea as to how things work and I have a sense of what goes on in families.
As Mr. Bala explained, the proposed amendments are very welcome. To some extent, they bring the act up to date with respect to parenting orders, contact orders and parenting responsibilities.
I think it's wonderful to begin moving away from the notion of custody and towards the idea of responsibility. When it comes to parents, sharing responsibility is what matters. Time is one thing, but responsibility is another. That is usually the focus when setting up a parenting plan.
The bill refers to responsibility, providing a guide that encourages parents to work together in a meaningful way on these issues. Parents tell their lawyers they want x or y and go into mediation with that mindset. That's fine, but numerous responsibilities flow from that, ones that are sometimes overlooked.
Proposed new section 16 of the Divorce Act seeks to put the best interests of the child at the centre of the process. That's a positive thing because it forces us to view the situation from the child's standpoint. The explanation often given by children is that, when their parents were together and fighting all the time, the parents would tell them everything would be better after the separation or divorce. Once the parents separate and divorce, though, the situation gets worse, leaving children to wonder why they separated or divorced in the first place given that it just made things much worse. Clearly, things can become adversarial.
Having factors that outline the best interests of the child helps us view the needs of the child in much more detail and move away from the powers of parents. When it comes to custody and rights of access, the problem always revolves around decision-making power. One party is given decision-making power, and the other ends up being much less involved in the child's life, often to the child's detriment.
Now I'd like to comment on the dispute resolution changes in proposed new section 7. I want to begin by saying that I am glad to see the courts encouraging parents to participate in a dispute resolution process. When the family unit breaks up, the financial resources are split between two households at least. It's very difficult at that point for each person to rebuild their financial capacity. The money goes to the lawyers, and so a lot less goes to the child. By encouraging this avenue, the courts will make people more receptive to dispute resolution.
Dispute resolution may not be appropriate for everyone, of course. It's said that, sometimes, it's better to wait until more suitable opportunities for mediation or negotiation arise. That may be true, but I can tell you that mediation often results in swift measures.
For instance, in the case of a parenting plan, it's important to start with a temporary plan. It could cover a period of a few months, three weeks or whatever is appropriate. After that, the parties come back together and review the plan. It's good for parents, and it's good for children because it lessens the feeling that they aren't being loyal to one parent or the other. They don't feel as though they absolutely have to say a certain thing, otherwise, they won't be welcome the next day. It can give the child greater flexibility in that regard.
On the whole, that's what I wanted to say. I see that the dispute resolution provisions don't really refer to parenting coordination. That may be something worth including. Since parenting coordination to some extent combines mediation and arbitration, I assume it would prove valuable in high conflict situations. I can tell you that parenting coordination is sought when the parties do not want to have to deal with an issue in court. It is commonly used in high conflict situations resulting from an order or a separation agreement.
That was my opening statement. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Thank you.