Law and Society Commons^™

Front Matter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

-

Does Domestic Violence Disappear From Parental Alienation Cases? Five Lessons From Quebec For Judges, Scholars, And Policymakers, Suzanne Zaccour

Canadian Journal of Family Law

The theory of parental alienation—which asserts that children who reject one parent are brainwashed by the other parent—has often been used to punish caring mothers and grant custody to dangerous fathers. The legal community’s quick infatuation with this concept has sparked fiery debates between its proponents and domestic violence scholars. My research contributes to this urgent conversation by shedding new light on the role of domestic violence in parental alienation cases.

I observe how series of cases involving the same family deal with the issue of domestic violence. This method reveals a worrisome “disappearing act”: as families repeatedly interact with …

Retrospective Removal Of Gamete Donor Anonymity: Policy Recommendations For Ontario Based On The Victorian Experience, Alicia Czarnowski

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of the gamete-donor anonymity schemes in Ontario, Canada and Victoria, Australia. As of March 1, 2017, Victoria became the first jurisdiction in the world to retrospectively remove gamete-donor anonymity. Conversely, donor anonymity remains protected in Ontario, largely through statutory silence. While many donor conceived individuals are calling for other jurisdictions to follow suit and retrospectively abolish anonymity, an in-depth analysis of Victoria’s policy-making process suggests that Ontario should not take a similar course of action. This conclusion is based on the inherent issues with retrospective legislation, the historical differences between the two jurisdictions in …

Disparue Comme Par Magie ? La Violence Conjugale Dans Les Cas D’Aliénation Parentale Au Québec, Suzanne Zaccour

Canadian Journal of Family Law

La théorie de l’« aliénation parentale » — qui affirme que des enfants rejettent un parent en raison d’un lavage de cerveau fait par l’autre parent — a souvent été utilisée pour punir des mères attentionnées et accorder la garde à des pères dangereux. L’engouement fulgurant de la communauté juridique pour ce concept a donc suscité des débats enflammés entre ses partisan·es et les chercheur·ses en violence conjugale.

Mon article contribue à cette conversation urgente en jetant un éclairage nouveau sur le rôle de la violence conjugale dans les cas d’aliénation parentale.

J’observe comment des séries de jugements impliquant la …

An Essential Service: Public Libraries And Their Role In Law And Society, Graham Reynolds

All Faculty Publications

On March 16, 2020, in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the City of Vancouver closed all of its public library branches. I experienced these closures on a number of different levels: as a Vancouver resident who loves to read and to visit libraries, as the partner of an avid reader, as the father of a four and a half year old who is as excited about the prospect of trips to the library to pick up “fresh books” as he is with the chance to practice riding his pedal bike through the neighborhood, and, among other identities, …

Case Comment: Mccain V Mccain And Barton V Sauvé: A New Approach To Autonomous Domestic Contractual Bargaining In Ontario, Mark Cornish

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This case comment explores the tension between principles that guide domestic contractual bargaining and interpretation in Ontario with reference to two recent trial-level decisions. The courts’ analyses in McCain and Barton suggest a way to reconcile the apparent tension between principles of autonomy and fairness. In light of these decisions, and drawing on the literature in this area, the paper suggests a two-pronged approach for courts to adopt when deciding whether to set aside a domestic contract. This approach attempts to ensure that courts only uphold domestic contracts that are negotiated by truly autonomous parties.

Front Matter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

Hong Kong's Children Proceedings (Parental Responsibility) Bill: Comparative Family Law Reform And Multidisciplinary Collaboration, Katherine Lynch

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Many comprehensive reviews of family justice systems have been undertaken in common law jurisdictions over the past 20 years, all seeking to provide more meaningful affordable access to justice for families and children. Hong Kong is also under pressure to enact legislative reforms originally proposed in 2002-2005 which deal with children’s matters and more broadly, with family and matrimonial issues. Legislative reform was anticipated when the Government announced the long awaited Children’s Proceedings (Parental Responsibility) Bill (“Children’s Bill”) in 2015. After significant public consultation, however, the Government announced in 2018 that it would delay implementation of this draft legislation. Unfortunately, …

Front Matter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

Les Amoureux Sur Les Bancs Publics : Le Traitement Juridique Du Polyamour En Droit Québécois, Michaël Lessard

Canadian Journal of Family Law

L’auteur offre un tour d’horizon des manières dont le droit québécois désavantage les relations polyamoureuses. Dans la première partie, l’auteur définit le polyamour, le monoamour et certaines notions connexes. Dans les sections subséquentes, il avance une catégorisation du traitement juridique du polyamour. Selon son analyse, quatre angles sont exploités pour orienter les relations conjugales vers le monoamour et hors du polyamour : (1) limiter à deux le nombre de parents par enfant (biparenté vs pluriparenté), (2) faciliter la prestation de soins de conjoint·e à conjoint·e, (3) protéger les conjoint·es contre des vulnérabilités économiques, et (4) prohiber certains comportements polyamoureux (criminalisation …

In Memoriam: The Canadian Research Institute For Law And The Family, 1987–2018, John-Paul E. Boyd

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Special Issue: Shifting Normativities, Régine Tremblay, Erez Aloni

Canadian Journal of Family Law

On May 9 and 10, 2019, we held an international and interdisciplinary conference entitled Shifting Normativities: Families, Feminisms, Laws—Celebrating the Work of Professor Susan B. Boyd. This event, cohosted by the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies and the Canadian Journal of Family Law, brought together to the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia scholars from different countries and disciplines. It had three principal goals. First, celebrating the work of Professor Susan B. Boyd; second, producing cutting-edge scholarship in under-researched fields, namely, family studies and feminist theory; and third, creating new networks of …

All Families Are Equal, But Do Some Matter More Than Others? How Gender, Poverty, And Domestic Violence Put Quebec's Family Law Reform To The Test, Suzanne Zaccour

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Who needs family law? While it is tempting to answer “everyone”, the stakes are not the same for all. I propose to evaluate family law rules in terms of how they address high-stakes situations—that is, the condition of vulnerable women. Thus, the test of good family law should be how well it deals with poverty and domestic violence, factors that directly constrain women’s ability to negotiate fair outcomes.

To explore this method, I take the example of a recent proposal, developed by Alain Roy’s reform committee (the “Comité consultatif sur le droit de la famille”), and regarding which the Quebec …

Autonomous Motherhood In The Era Of Donor Linking: New Challenges And Constraints?, Fiona Kelly

Canadian Journal of Family Law

The number of single mothers by choice (SMCs), that is, unpartnered women who choose to conceive a child that they intend to raise on their own; has grown rapidly in Australia, where they now represent the largest user group of clinic-based donor sperm. Despite the growing visibility of SMCs, constraints remain for women who wish to parent autonomously from a partner. This article explores a complex new challenge for Australian SMCs: whether to participate in the increasingly popular phenomenon of “donor linking,” defined as the process by which parents who use donated gametes to conceive seek access to the donor’s …

Intent To Parent Is What Makes A Parent? A Comparative Analysis Of The Role Of Intent In Multi-Parenthood Recognition, Nola Cammu

Canadian Journal of Family Law

In most jurisdictions, the two-parent rule does not take into account the social reality of intentional multiple-parent families where more than two parents share parenting tasks from a child’s birth. Many cases show that children in non-traditional parenting constellations are emotionally attached to all parental figures and perceive them as true parents. Unfortunately, the law does not adequately acknowledge multiple parenting practices, and thus a discrepancy exists between the social and the legal reality of (often young) children in intentional plus-two-parent families. This article argues that the law should aim to rectify this discrepancy by legally accommodating multiple parenthood, preferably …

Faire Valoir Ses Droits À La Chambre De La Jeunesse : État Des Lieux Des Barrières Structurelles À L’Accès À La Justice Des Familles, Emmanuelle Bernheim, Marilyn Coupienne

Canadian Journal of Family Law

S’il est convenu que l’intervention en protection de la jeunesse constitue en soi une atteinte aux droits fondamentaux des parents, il est souvent pris pour acquis que les droits des parents et des enfants s’opposent autour de notions telles que l’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant et le projet de vie permanent. Au Québec, dans un contexte où les mères vivant dans la pauvreté, et plus particulièrement les mères autochtones ou issues de minorités visibles, sont surreprésentées en protection de la jeunesse et où le nombre de dossiers judiciarisés a cru de 20% depuis les années 1990, il apparaît non seulement pertinent …

Relationally Speaking: The Implications Of Treating Embryos As Property In A Canadian Context, Kathleen Hammond

Canadian Journal of Family Law

In July 2018, the Ontario Superior Court, in S.H. v D.H., dealt with a dispute between a recently separated couple over a frozen embryo that the couple had created. In his judgment, Justice Del Frate stated that the embryo should be conceived of as property. This was the cause of uproar among feminist legal scholars who were concerned with the possible repercussions for cisgender women of labeling embryos as property. The Superior Court decision was subsequently overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal this past May (2019). However, given the likelihood that embryos will be treated as property in …

Remembering Professor Judith Mosoff, Isabel Grant, Susan B. Boyd

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

The "Family"—And "Families" In Law: A Review Of Archana Parashar And Franscesca Dominello, The Family In Law, Mary Jane Mossman

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

Crazy Women And Hysterical Mothers: The Gendered Use Of Mental-Health Labels In Custody Disputes, Suzanne Zaccour

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This research studies the use of gendered mental-health labels, such as “crazy,” “hysterical,” “insane,” and “emotionally unstable,” in Canadian custody cases decided between 2000 and 2016. Building on Judith Mosoff’s work on gender and mental health stigma in custody proceedings, it maps how these “pop-psychology” labels impact custody litigation. This investigation reveals that mental-health labels serve to discredit the mother, attack her parenting abilities, and distract from her allegations of violence by the father. The article also explores fathers’, mental health experts’, and judges’ roles in framing the mother’s credibility and parental capacity with regard to her alleged mental instability. …

Married Couple, Single Recipient: Understanding The Exclusion Of Gifts And Inheritances From Default Matrimonial Regimes, Laura Cárdenas

Canadian Journal of Family Law

In most Canadian jurisdictions, default family property law regimes exclude gifts and inheritances from the property that will be divided between divorcing couples. In Quebec, this exclusion is not only present in the default regime (the partnership of acquests) but rendered mandatory by the public order nature of the “family patrimony”—a construct determining the property that will be shared equally between spouses upon their divorce. This article examines default regimes of family property in Ontario and Quebec and analyzes the justifications provided by the provincial legislators for excluding gifts and inheritances from the mass of assets that will be divided …

Young People As Humans In Family Court Processes: A Child Rights Approach To Legal Representation, Donna J. Martinson, Caterina E. Tempesta

Canadian Journal of Family Law

The authors, a retired British Columbia Supreme Court judge and a senior member of Ontario’s Office of the Children’s Lawyer, address the important issue of legal representation for children. They are co-chairs of the Steering Committee which guided the development of the Canadian Bar Association’s new and comprehensive Child Rights Toolkit. As such, they are well-placed to discuss how a child rights approach, as required by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Canada is a ratifying party, supports legal representation for children who find themselves caught in contentious family law proceedings before the courts.

Quebec's Filiation Regime, The Roy Report'S Recommendations, And The 'Interest Of The Child', Régine Tremblay

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This article describes Quebec’s filiation regime and explains some of the Roy Report’s recommendations to reform parent-child relationships in Quebec. While this report is unlikely to lead to legislative change, it represents an important insight into issues animating family law in Quebec today. The Roy Report anchors filiation and family law to the ‘interest of the child’, a notion likely different from the best interests of the child in common law. The article offers some critical and comparative analysis of current and proposed rules. It makes this lesser known area of Quebec civil law accessible in English and to common …

Are You My Mother? Parentage In A Nonconjugal Family, Natasha Bakht, Lynda M. Collins

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

The Vanishing Body Of Disability Law: Power And The Making Of The Impaired Subject, Jonas-Sébastien Beaudry

Canadian Journal of Family Law

The influence of disability studies on legal scholarship is most visible in the social model, which claims that people are not disabled because of their bodily impairments, but by society in its refusal to accommodate their impairments.

However, a modest but growing discourse within disability studies argues that the notion of impairment, in addition to disability, is socially constructed. This article aims to bring this problematized conception of impairment, informed by Michel Foucault’s conception of power, into contact with legal scholarship. Judith Mosoff’s sensibility about the role of impairments in the legal treatment of disabled people illustrates this critical outlook, …

(Some) Mothers Know Best: A Case Comment On Mm V Tb And The Plight Of Indigenous Mothers In Child Welfare And Adoption Proceedings, Catherine Wang

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Over time, courts have come to acknowledge the significance of Indigenous identity when deciding custody disputes, but they continue to struggle with how much consideration should be given to the broader history involved, which can leave Indigenous mothers particularly disadvantaged in family law proceedings. Not only do Indigenous mothers have to contend with the law’s general assumptions and expectations about mothers, they also have to endure the courts’ often limited ability to situate mothers’ individual actions in the wider context of structural barriers erected by government and societal forces. A close examination of the recent British Columbia Court of Appeal …

Moral Evils V Health And Safety Evils: The Case Of An Ovum “Obtained” From A “Donor” And Used By The “Donor” In Her Own Surrogate Pregnancy, Pamela M. White

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This paper critically examines the amendment made in 2012 to section 10(2)(c) of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, 2004 mandating the screening and testing of “obtained” ovum “donated” by a “donor” and used in her own surrogate pregnancy. The amendment at section 10(1) of the Act cites the federal government’s obligation to reduce harm to human health and safety arising from use of sperm or ova for human reproduction, including the risk of disease transmission. This paper argues that the amendment mandating the screening and testing of surrogate ova when used by the surrogate in her own surrogate pregnancy creates …

Prestation Compensatoire Et Union De Fait En Droit Québécois : Étude Critique Du Discours Judiciaire, Laurence Saint-Pierre Harvey

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This paper analyzes a policy recommendation suggesting the compensatory allowance, a mechanism in Quebec matrimonial law, to be the solution of the cohabitation “problem.” The study draws on queer theory to analyze the discourse found in the compensatory allowance case law. The judicial discourse is polarized into two binary categories: spouse taking advantage / spouse being taken advantage of, normal contributions / abnormal contributions. This analysis sheds light on two defining traits of the compensatory allowance. First, as elaborated by judgments, it expresses gendered, heteronormative, and traditional ideas of spousal identity and roles. Second, it is difficult to conceive of …

Is It Time To Tell? Abolishing Donor Anonymity In Canada, Fiona Kelly

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Over the past two decades, a growing number of donor conceived people have spoken out about the impact of donor anonymity on their health and wellbeing. A significant number of legislatures have responded to these concerns by introducing laws that prospectively (and in one case, retrospectively) abolish donor anonymity. This article considers the increasing pressure on Canadian provinces to end anonymity and introduce registers which enable donor conceived people to access their donor’s identifying information. While the article does not endorse the genetic essentialism that is often a feature of advocacy in the field, it does argue that there are …

Addressing Controversies About Experts In Disputes Over Children, Nicholas Bala, Rachel Birnbaum, Carly Watt

Canadian Journal of Family Law

There is significant controversy about the use of experts in child-related disputes in family and child protection proceedings in Canada. The 2015 Lang Review of the Motherisk Laboratory at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children concluded that experts retained by child protection agencies were introducing unreliable expert testimony about parental drug and alcohol use. The recent decision of Ontario Court of Appeal in M. v. F. suggested that evidence from a party-retained expert critiquing the opinion of a court-appointed psychologist is "rarely" helpful or admissible. This paper addresses these and related controversies about the use of experts in child-related cases. It …