A mother "must not live with fear,"
says Jolin-Barrette
(Quebec) Simon Jolin-Barrette tabled Bill 12 on Thursday, which provides that a raped woman may in the future oppose her child having a parent-child relationship with her abuser and that the latter be responsible for helping to meet the needs of the child so that "neither the mother nor the child are financially penalized by this decision."
HUGO PILON-LAROSETHE PRESS
On the other hand, the Minister of Justice proposes in his bill to regulate pregnancy for others, that is, the use of surrogate mothers. These two issues, which are totally distinct, are part of a new part of the immense project that is the reform of family law. Mr. Jolin-Barrette had agreed last June to split Bill 2, a voluminous piece of legislation of 360 articles, in order to adopt the articles concerning gender identity before the election. Bill 12 is the continuation of this broad reform.
The preamble to the bill explains that it "allows [a mother and her] child, when it is the result of a sexual assault, to contest his filiation with the aggressor or to oppose the establishment of such filiation. It also makes the aggressor responsible for helping to meet the needs of the child by paying compensation to the victim of the sexual assault."
"A mother who has experienced such a traumatic event must not live with the fear that one day her abuser will seek rights over her child," said Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
Last week, the minister had announced to Oceane (fictitious name) that he had been particularly touched by his story, told by columnist Isabelle Hachey of La Presse1. In 2019, when she was only 17 years old, the young woman was raped by her roommate and became pregnant. The perpetrator, who is now in prison and whose name has been placed on the sex offender registry for life, is fighting to be recognized as the father of Oceane's boy and wants to get involved in his life, contrary to the wishes of the mother.
"All of Quebec was shaken and shocked by Océane's story that was reported by the daily La Presse. We all agree that this is an untenable and despicable situation. The message we want to send to Océane today is that thanks to her, thanks to her testimony, thanks to her voice, the laws will change," said the Minister of Justice at the Quebec City Parliament.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette added that Océane will have levers at its disposal once the bill is adopted. "The bill provides that, where paternity is already established, the mother, who is the guardian of the child, is given the opportunity to apply to the court and terminate the filiation that had already been established. This would mean that Oceane could submit an application to the court to end the child's filiation and, in the same way, as part of the same request, ask for compensation to support the child, "he said.
According to data cited by Simon Jolin-Barrette, 170 children are born as a result of sexual assault each year in Quebec. A mother whose abuser has not been convicted in court will also have recourse, Bill 12 provides. "The mother will be able to take recourse in civil matters, where the burden of proof is much lower [than in criminal cases]. So it's on a balance of probabilities, a burden of proof at 50 plus one rather than beyond a reasonable doubt," the minister said.
Protecting surrogatesIn addition, Bill 12 tabled by Simon Jolin-Barrette addresses the issue of surrogacy. Currently, contracts signed between surrogate mothers and intended parents are invalid in Quebec, where the Civil Code considers them "null and void."
The government proposes to recognize "pregnancy for others and [to regulate it] in order to protect the interests of the child and to protect surrogate mothers in the context of such a pregnancy".
The bill provides, among other things, "the obligation to enter into a pregnancy agreement for others before the beginning of the pregnancy as well as the obligation to obtain, after the birth of the child, the consent of the person who gave birth to the child to establish the parent-child relationship with the child exclusively with respect to the intended parents".
"The bill therefore establishes a clear, predictable and, above all, safe process for all. It is based on several fundamental principles. In particular, the woman who carries the child retains the complete autonomy to dispose of her body as she sees fit. The woman carrying the child may unilaterally terminate the pregnancy agreement for others at any time. Remuneration is prohibited, but the reimbursement of certain expenses is admissible, and intended parents who change their mind along the way cannot abandon the child," explained Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
"The Bill allows the legal establishment of the filiation of a child born of such a parental project when all the parties to the agreement are domiciled in Québec provided, in particular, that the agreement is concluded by notarial deed en minute after an information session on the psychosocial implications and on the ethical issues that the parental project implies," it is also stated in the preamble of the bill. Quebec also excludes allowing multiple parenting, even if the Coalition of LGBT+ families goes to court to obtain that
a child can legally have more than two parents.
"There are no studies that show that it is in the best interests of children to have more than two parents. We make the choice that from a legal point of view, there are only two parents, "concluded the minister.
HUGO PILON-LAROSETHE PRESS
On the other hand, the Minister of Justice proposes in his bill to regulate pregnancy for others, that is, the use of surrogate mothers. These two issues, which are totally distinct, are part of a new part of the immense project that is the reform of family law. Mr. Jolin-Barrette had agreed last June to split Bill 2, a voluminous piece of legislation of 360 articles, in order to adopt the articles concerning gender identity before the election. Bill 12 is the continuation of this broad reform.
The preamble to the bill explains that it "allows [a mother and her] child, when it is the result of a sexual assault, to contest his filiation with the aggressor or to oppose the establishment of such filiation. It also makes the aggressor responsible for helping to meet the needs of the child by paying compensation to the victim of the sexual assault."
"A mother who has experienced such a traumatic event must not live with the fear that one day her abuser will seek rights over her child," said Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
Last week, the minister had announced to Oceane (fictitious name) that he had been particularly touched by his story, told by columnist Isabelle Hachey of La Presse1. In 2019, when she was only 17 years old, the young woman was raped by her roommate and became pregnant. The perpetrator, who is now in prison and whose name has been placed on the sex offender registry for life, is fighting to be recognized as the father of Oceane's boy and wants to get involved in his life, contrary to the wishes of the mother.
"All of Quebec was shaken and shocked by Océane's story that was reported by the daily La Presse. We all agree that this is an untenable and despicable situation. The message we want to send to Océane today is that thanks to her, thanks to her testimony, thanks to her voice, the laws will change," said the Minister of Justice at the Quebec City Parliament.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette added that Océane will have levers at its disposal once the bill is adopted. "The bill provides that, where paternity is already established, the mother, who is the guardian of the child, is given the opportunity to apply to the court and terminate the filiation that had already been established. This would mean that Oceane could submit an application to the court to end the child's filiation and, in the same way, as part of the same request, ask for compensation to support the child, "he said.
According to data cited by Simon Jolin-Barrette, 170 children are born as a result of sexual assault each year in Quebec. A mother whose abuser has not been convicted in court will also have recourse, Bill 12 provides. "The mother will be able to take recourse in civil matters, where the burden of proof is much lower [than in criminal cases]. So it's on a balance of probabilities, a burden of proof at 50 plus one rather than beyond a reasonable doubt," the minister said.
Protecting surrogatesIn addition, Bill 12 tabled by Simon Jolin-Barrette addresses the issue of surrogacy. Currently, contracts signed between surrogate mothers and intended parents are invalid in Quebec, where the Civil Code considers them "null and void."
The government proposes to recognize "pregnancy for others and [to regulate it] in order to protect the interests of the child and to protect surrogate mothers in the context of such a pregnancy".
The bill provides, among other things, "the obligation to enter into a pregnancy agreement for others before the beginning of the pregnancy as well as the obligation to obtain, after the birth of the child, the consent of the person who gave birth to the child to establish the parent-child relationship with the child exclusively with respect to the intended parents".
"The bill therefore establishes a clear, predictable and, above all, safe process for all. It is based on several fundamental principles. In particular, the woman who carries the child retains the complete autonomy to dispose of her body as she sees fit. The woman carrying the child may unilaterally terminate the pregnancy agreement for others at any time. Remuneration is prohibited, but the reimbursement of certain expenses is admissible, and intended parents who change their mind along the way cannot abandon the child," explained Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
"The Bill allows the legal establishment of the filiation of a child born of such a parental project when all the parties to the agreement are domiciled in Québec provided, in particular, that the agreement is concluded by notarial deed en minute after an information session on the psychosocial implications and on the ethical issues that the parental project implies," it is also stated in the preamble of the bill. Quebec also excludes allowing multiple parenting, even if the Coalition of LGBT+ families goes to court to obtain that
a child can legally have more than two parents.
"There are no studies that show that it is in the best interests of children to have more than two parents. We make the choice that from a legal point of view, there are only two parents, "concluded the minister.
