Justice committee  Could you please repeat that?

Justice committee  Yes, that's correct.

Justice committee  Certainly, it's always open to people to put evidence before the court that there has been a material change. There would have to be sufficient evidence before the court for it to make an order that there has been a material change in circumstances or that it would be in the best

Justice committee  There are no definitions in the provision.

Justice committee  The first part of the provision states that any time there was a terminal illness or critical condition, there would be a change in circumstances. Once that individual has shown that they have a critical illness, they would be able to then get to the second part of the analysis.

Justice committee  It's important to point out that the provinces and territories are responsible for the administration of justice, so that's access to the courts. We can certainly bring to their attention the fact that you have raised this issue of how quickly someone is able to get into court.

Justice committee  If you had a number of cases that established that a terminal illness or critical condition was a material change of circumstances, certainly that body of case law would be something the courts would look to. In that sense, it would be helpful in terms of establishing what the pr

Justice committee  Certainly, but it's difficult to say in the abstract, of course, because everything is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Justice committee  That's correct. The best interests of the child is the test.

Justice committee  How does the current act deal with that?

Justice committee  When an individual provides evidence that there is a terminal illness or a critical condition, and that factor is brought before the court, that would be a factor the court would have to consider in determining what is in the best interests of the child. So under section 16, it

Justice committee  I think what the bill does, as I said, is deem the terminal illness or critical condition to be a material change, so you would go straight to the second part of the analysis. And then the bill does give some direction. It says, as we have discussed, “the court shall then ensure

Justice committee  I don't think I'm able to give a specific time as to how long.

Justice committee  It's correct that the provision only amends section 17 of the act. There's a difference between sections 16 and 17 in what they do. Section 16 deals with original orders. It is based on the best interests of the child. So the court, looking at whether an original order should be

Justice committee  Any time the court is required to consider the best interests of the child, the court would be required to consider all the circumstances in the child's life and the parent's life that have an impact on the child. To the extent that a parent's terminal illness has an impact on th