GOVERNMENT OF CANADA STRATEGY FOR REFORM

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A STRATEGY FOR REFORM

In responding to the Second Report of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access, the Government of Canada has developed a Strategy for Reform to address issues relating to parenting arrangements after divorce. Drawing on the Committee's report and recommendations, it sets out the principal directions to be explored over the next few years. The Government of Canada hopes this Strategy for Reform will promote further public dialogue on these difficult and complex issues in order to refine the approach and define the detailed reforms that will be required.

Six distinct but related elements are proposed in this proposed Strategy for Reform, based on the framework principles that were identified earlier.

• Element 1: Focussing on the child

  Identify the legal rules, principles and processes that will better structure the decision-making process in a child-focused way and shift the current focus of the family law system from parental rights to parental responsibility.

• Element 2: Maintaining meaningful relationships

  Formulate policy that will recognize that children and youths benefit from the opportunity to develop and maintain meaningful relationships with both mothers and fathers, as well as grandparents and other extended family members, but will also recognize that no one model of post-separation parenting will be ideal for all children.

• Element 3: Managing conflict

  Include reforms to identify the different levels of conflict that separating parents experience, and develop specific responses designed with these levels in mind. This reform will include formulating specialized policies to deal with high-conflict disputes and violent situations.

• Element 4: Financial responsibility

  Recognize that parents who separate do not deal with issues concerning their children in isolation and that the impact of child support is an important element of the framework within which custody and access determinations are made.

• Element 5: Collaboration and partnerships

  Promote collaborative efforts to support families involved in separation and divorce, including the contributions of a wide variety of disciplines and sectors, but recognize the need to respect jurisdictional responsibilities.

• Element 6: Building a better understanding

  Identify areas that require further research.

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