Mr. Speaker, every year through no fault of their own thousands of innocent Canadian children are denied access to their grandparents when decisions are made concerning custody and access in divorce cases. This happens often in spite of the desire of both the children and the grandparents to spend meaningful time together.
Children and grandparents across the country want to know whether the new Minister of Justice will address this grave injustice which denies the rights of innocent children to access their grandparents. New legislation amending the Divorce Act is required. It has been over three years since the previous minister of justice said the following to the National Post :
If it is clear that under our existing law, or the ways in which the law is applied, that the best interests of the child are not always first and foremost, then...we will look at what we can do to change that.
The Divorce Act fails to protect the right of children to access their grandparents. I ask the new Minister of Justice, is that failure always in the best interest of children?