2.0 Methodology

Previous iterations of the surveys were designed to cover a wide range of topics (e.g., family violence, child support, Unified Family Courts) and as a result, the questions on each topic had to be limited. When developing the 2022 surveys, a different approach was taken so that more detailed and comprehensive data on one family law area could be collected. The 2022 surveys focused specifically on child support issues and the Federal Child Support Guidelines.⁠Footnote 3

The 2022 National Family Law Surveys included both closed and open-ended questions. Two versions of the survey, one for lawyers and one for judges, were distributed through an online survey platform. The topics in both surveys were the same, but the questions were worded slightly differently to reflect the different nature of the professions. A few specific questions for lawyers were also added to the survey of lawyers, and a few additional questions were added only to the survey of judges. The surveys were launched on May 24, 2022, with a planned closing date of June 30, 2022. Due to a low response rate from lawyers, the surveys remained open until December 23, 2022.

Historically, the National Family Law Surveys were only administered to participants at the National Family Law Program Conference.Footnote 4 However, starting in 2018, the surveys have been distributed to law societies across the country through the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The 2022 National Family Law Surveys were also distributed to family law lawyers and judges through the Canadian Bar Association – Family Law Section, the Canadian Judicial Council, the Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, and the Provincial Court Judicial Justices. The Coordinating Committee of Senior Officials – Family Justice, a Federal-Provincial-Territorial committee, shared contact suggestions for other family law organizations, who were subsequently contacted in November to increase participation from lawyers.

2.1 Limitations

While efforts were made to distribute the survey across Canada, this is a non-representative sample and thus, the findings presented in this report cannot be generalized to all Canadian family law lawyers and judges. For instance, there was an overrepresentation of judges appointed to a provincial/territorial Superior Court or Queen’s Bench and an overrepresentation of experienced lawyers (i.e., with over 10 years of experience). However, the information collected from the surveys can help provide a better understanding of some of the practices and issues related to child support in family law.