Law and Society Commons^™

Children’S Place And Voice In Quebec’S Child Protection Proceedings, Mona Paré, Émilie De Bellefeuille

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This article explores children’s participation and their right to be heard in Quebec’s child protection proceedings. While children’s participation rights are well protected in international and domestic legal instruments, they have received little attention in relation to child protection. This article aims to fill a gap in the legal literature by reporting on the results of an empirical research project examining children’s participation in judicial child protection procedures in Quebec. The participation of judges, social workers, and children in this research sheds light on practice that is clearly inspired by the Quebec’s rights- advancing Youth Protection Act (YPA) …

Front Matter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

La Fragilisation Du Lien De Confiance Au Sein De L’Intervention Sociale En Protection De La Jeunesse : Peut-On Blâmer Le Droit ?, Marilyn Coupienne

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Dans le contexte de la protection de la jeunesse, la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse (LPJ) édicte les pouvoirs et responsabilités des intervenantes sociales œuvrant à la Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ) et encadre la relation entre celles-ci et les familles. Cette loi octroie aux intervenantes un double mandat, qui implique à la fois celui de l’aide et celui du contrôle et de la surveillance. Selon la littérature relative aux pratiques sociales dans ce domaine, les familles suivies par la DPJ peuvent se sentir observées, traquées, dénuées d’intimité et considèrent difficile de laisser …

Existe-T-Il Un « Droit À L’Enfant » En Droit Québecois?, Elisabeth Beauchamp

Canadian Journal of Family Law

La notion de « droit à l’enfant » est souvent soulevée dans le discours public, bien qu’aucune disposition législative au Québec ne prévoie un tel droit à proprement parler. Notre étude propose une analyse de l’ensemble des développements récents du droit de la famille québécois pour déterminer si un « droit à l’enfant » sous-jacent peut s’y inférer. De manière plus particulière, l’analyse porte sur l’émergence possible d’un « droit à l’enfant » dans les développements jurisprudentiels et législatifs relatifs à l’adoption, à la procréation assistée et à la gestation pour autrui. Nous tentons de démontrer que la substance du …

Respecting And Protecting Transgender And Gender-Nonconforming Children In Family Courts, Claire Houston

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Family court judges are increasingly being asked to resolve parenting disputes involving conflict over a child’s gender expression or identity. These disputes ask whether it is in the best interests of children to support their gender nonconformity, including any decision to transition to a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth. Despite more of these cases coming before family courts, judges have little guidance on how to resolve these cases in the best interests of children. Drawing on medical and social science literature and reported decisions, and applying a robust theory of children’s participation rights, this article …

Icwa Downunder: Exploring The Costs And Benefits Of Enacting An Australian Version Of The United States' Indian Child Welfare Act, Marcia Zug

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Australian Indigenous Advocates have long sought the passage of Indigeous child-welfare legislation similar to the United States’s Indian Child Welfare Act. Recently, the Australian government has indicated it is receptive to the enactment of such legislation. However, an Australian version of the ICWA is not as simple as it sounds. The legal status of the Indigenous communities of Australia and American Indian tribes is vastly different thus, many of the ICWA’s provisions, particularly those based on a recognition of Indigenous sovereignty, would require significant modifications before they coud be applied in Australia. These modifications mean an Australian ICWA …

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 …

Front Matter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

The "Threat" Of Marriage Fraud: A Story Of Precarity, Exclusion, And Belonging, Sarah Pringle

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Migrants can obtain permanent residency in Canada under the family-reunification category set out in s. 12(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Canadian citizens or permanent residents may apply to sponsor their non-citizen spouse, common law or conjugal partner, or other relatives to move to Canada pursuant to s. 117(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). The bad-faith clause under s. 4(1) of the IRPR requires spousal-sponsorship applicants to prove to visa officers that, on a balance of probabilities, their relationship is “genuine” and not “entered into primarily for the purpose of …

Front Matter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

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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 …

Confronting Cannibalism, Review Of Hadley Louise Friedland, The Wetiko Legal Principles: Cree And Anishinabek Responses To Violence And Victimization​ (Univ. Toronto Press, 2018), Lisa M. Kelly, Shelby Percival

Canadian Journal of Family Law

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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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

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, …

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. …