Bill C-78 received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019 and most of the changes to the Divorce Act will take place on July 1, 2020.
The Bill addresses four key objectives:
· to promote the best interests of the child;
· to address family violence;
· to help reduce child poverty; and
· to make Canada's family justice system more accessible and efficient by streamlining processes and reducing the need for court intervention.
There are several key provisions: replacing outdated terms such as “custody” and “access”, the promotion of alternative dispute resolution, clarifying the “best interests of the child”, the mandatory consideration of family violence in parental court orders, and a new framework for child relocation applications.
Contact Proskiw Law at 780-665-4944 for more information regarding the upcoming changes to family and divorce law.