Category Archives: Family

Canada’s interpretation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction – the influence of the new hybrid approach on a child’s objection to return

By: Rudiger Tscherning

PDF Version: Canada’s interpretation of the Hague Convention on_the_Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction – the influence of the new hybrid approach on a child’s objection to return

Cases Comment On: Office of the Children’s Lawyer v Balev, 2018 SCC 16; Erhardt v Meyer, 2018 ABQB 333; Husnik v Barbero Salas, 2018 ONSC 2627

Introduction

On November 9, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) heard the appeal in Office of the Children’s Lawyer v JPB and CRB (Supreme Court of Canada, Leave to Appeal (37250)) (Balev), a case which raises important issues about the interpretation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For an overview of the background and issues arising from the Balev litigation, see my earlier posts at here, here, and here. The SCC rendered its decision in Balev on April 20, 2018.

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Interjurisdictional Enforcement of Protection Orders and the Possibility of Conflicts: The Need for Reform in Alberta

By: Jennifer Koshan

PDF Version: Interjurisdictional Enforcement of Protection Orders and the Possibility of Conflicts: The Need for Reform in Alberta

Case Commented On: DH v TH, 2018 ABQB 147 (CanLII)

Most provinces and territories in Canada now have legislation providing for emergency protection orders in cases of family violence. What we do not have in Alberta is a clear mechanism that allows for the recognition and enforcement of a protection order granted in another jurisdiction, nor a mechanism for dealing with conflicting orders.

In a recent Alberta case, DH v TH, 2018 ABQB 147 (CanLII), Justice Lee faced a situation where a woman had obtained an ex parte protection order against her husband in British Columbia under the Family Law Act, SBC 2011, c 25. At the time, the wife was living in BC and her husband was travelling back and forth between Edmonton and BC for work. After the order was granted, the husband moved to Edmonton to live with his sister. He was eventually served with the BC order in Alberta but missed the date for the hearing into the extension of that order, which resulted in a three-year BC protection order being granted against him. In the meantime, the wife received a transfer of employment to Edmonton and moved there to live with her parents. The husband apparently learned about the extension of the BC order when he went to an Edmonton daycare “where he believed the child of the marriage was” (at para 6). Later that day, he was served with an emergency protection order (EPO) obtained ex parte by his wife under Alberta’s Protection Against Family Violence Act, RSA 2000, c P-27 (PAFVA).

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Second CRILF Report on Polyamory Studies Sociodemographic Attributes and Attitudes

By: John-Paul Boyd

PDF Version: Second CRILF Report on Polyamory Studies Sociodemographic Attributes and Attitudes

Report Commented On: “Perceptions of Polyamory in Canada”, Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family

The Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family completed its second report on polyamory in January. The Institute’s first report, completed in April 2017, addressed how the legal issues arising from the formation and dissolution of polyamorous relationships are dealt with under the domestic relations legislation of Canada’s common law provinces, and included a preliminary analysis of the data gathered from a national survey administered over the course of seven weeks in the summer of 2016. The new report takes a much deeper look at the survey data and examines the sociodemographic attributes and attitudes of people identifying as polyamorous, with the goal of obtaining a better understanding of the prevalence and nature of polyamorous relationships to inform the development of family justice policy and legislation. Continue reading →

The Cost of Cohabitation Agreements: Considering Property Division Laws for Unmarried Cohabitants

By: Kyle Gardiner

PDF Version: The Cost of Cohabitation Agreements: Considering Property Division Laws for Unmarried Cohabitants

Report Commented On: Alberta Law Reform Institute, Property Division: Living Together Before Marriage, Report for Discussion No. 31

 On September 29, 2017, the Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) released Property Division: Common Law Couples and Adult Interdependent Partners, Report for Discussion No. 30, addressing Alberta’s lack of statutory law dealing with property division for unmarried cohabitants. That report recommended that property division rules should apply to adult interdependent partners as defined in the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act, SA 2002, c A-4.5 (AIRA) (i.e. “common-law partners”), and that those rules should be based on the Matrimonial Property Act, RSA 2000, c M-8 (MPA) — the statute that governs property division upon marriage breakdown in Alberta. This recommendation necessitated a further question answered by ALRI’s Report for Discussion 31: how should laws of property division deal with couples who first cohabit and later marry? Continue reading →

Property Division: Living Together Before Marriage

By: Genevieve Tremblay-McCaig

PDF Version: Property Division: Living Together Before Marriage

Report Commented On: Alberta Law Reform Institute, Property Division: Living Together before Marriage, Report for Discussion 31

The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) is considering changes to property division rules for spouses who live together before marriage. It recently published Property Division: Living Together before Marriage, Report for Discussion 31. Report 31 follows a separate report for discussion on property division for common law couples and adult interdependent partners. Report 31 covers the related but distinct issue of premarital cohabitation and property division. Before it makes final recommendations to the Alberta government, ALRI is seeking feedback on the proposals below. Continue reading →