{"id":6886,"date":"2021-04-29T13:05:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T17:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spiegelsohmer.com\/?p=6886"},"modified":"2022-12-07T10:47:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T15:47:53","slug":"the-new-concept-of-family-violence-in-the-divorce-act-a-possible-application-to-common-law-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiegelryan.com\/en\/2021\/04\/29\/the-new-concept-of-family-violence-in-the-divorce-act-a-possible-application-to-common-law-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"The new concept of family violence in the Divorce Act: a possible application to unmarried couples?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent amendments to the Divorce Act<\/em>, which came into force on March 1, 2021, introduce the concept of family violence and set out a specific list of factors to be considered by the Courts when assessing the best interests of the child in the context of family violence. Hence, the Act now provides that Courts must consider the effect of family violence on parenting arrangements for children in divorce cases.<\/p>\n

However, and as confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2013 in Eric v. Lola, the Divorce Act<\/em> does not apply to unmarried couples living in Quebec.<\/p>\n

In a recent Superior Court order<\/a>, the mother of a young child contested an application by the father for a safeguard order for shared custody. The parties had lived together in a non-marital union and the mother alleged that she had been a victim of spousal abuse during this time.<\/p>\n

In this matter, in which Spiegel Sohmer represented the mother, the Honourable Karen Kear-Jodoin applied the factors set out in the new provisions of the Divorce Act<\/em> to assess the best interests of the child in the context of family violence, and cited the text of section 16(3)(j)(i) of the Divorce Act<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0[11] \u00c0 la lumi\u00e8re des r\u00e9cents amendements sur la Loi sur le Divorce, le Tribunal doit consid\u00e9rer tous les facteurs li\u00e9s \u00e0 la violence familiale lorsqu\u2019il rend une ordonnance parentale<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

[12] Dans le pr\u00e9sent dossier, et apr\u00e8s avoir lu les d\u00e9clarations solennelles contradictoires des parties, il est impossible pour le Tribunal d\u2019en d\u00e9terminer la cr\u00e9dibilit\u00e9 au regard des all\u00e9gations de violence conjugale. Par cons\u00e9quent, en \u00e9mettant cette ordonnance, le Tribunal ne peut rendre une d\u00e9cision \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9gard de telles all\u00e9gations.<\/p>\n

[13] Le Tribunal, afin de rendre cette ordonnance int\u00e9rimaire, doit consid\u00e9rer l\u2019impact de la violence conjugale all\u00e9gu\u00e9e sur \u00ab\u00a0la capacit\u00e9 et la volont\u00e9 de toute personne ayant recours \u00e0 la violence familiale de prendre soin de lui et de r\u00e9pondre \u00e0 ses besoins\u00a0\u00bb.<\/u><\/strong> Le Tribunal r\u00e9it\u00e8re qu\u2019il ne rend aucune conclusion vis-\u00e0-vis de la v\u00e9racit\u00e9 des all\u00e9gations de la M\u00e8re concernant la violence conjugale et\/ou du d\u00e9menti de P\u00e8re \u00e0 cet \u00e9gard. M\u00eame si le Tribunal ne prend pas de telles all\u00e9gations \u00e0 la l\u00e9g\u00e8re, il doit \u00e9galement consid\u00e9rer l\u2019importance du droit de l\u2019enfant \u00e0 maintenir une relation \u00e9troite et affectueuse avec ses deux parents.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

(our emphasis)<\/p>\n

The application of the factors provided in the Divorce Act<\/em> in this case is particularly interesting as the Civil Code of Quebec<\/em> does not contain equivalent provisions that would render family violence a factor in defining the interests of the child.<\/p>\n

It will be pertinent to follow future case law to determine whether the Superior Court will continue to apply the Divorce Act<\/em>‘s new concept of family violence in cases of child custody for unmarried couples, while awaiting its integration into the Civil Code of Quebec<\/em>. We believe that this decision by the Honourable Karen Kear-Jodoin opens the door to such an application.<\/p>\n

Our litigation team remains at your disposal to answer all your needs in family matters.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recent amendments to the Divorce Act, which came into force on March 1, 2021, introduce the concept of family violence and set out a specific list of factors to be considered by the Courts when assessing the best interests of the child in the context of family violence. 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