Mr. Speaker, the second petition is on the subject of parental alienation and the use of this pseudo-theory in divorce and child custody cases. This is something that is commonly invoked when domestic violence is reported on the part of a custodial parent. It is an unfounded and dangerous theory, and it sometimes causes courts to lose sight of the best interests of the child and make decisions focused on parental rights, and to trivialize domestic violence.
The United Nations has spoken out on this through a special rapporteur. The special rapporteur on violence against women and girls has urged governments to prohibit family courts from using parental alienation pseudo-theory. That is exactly what the petitioners are calling on the government of Canada to do, which is to amend the Divorce Act to prohibit parental alienation accusations in family disputes.