Opposition doubts adoption
of family law reform
(Quebec) People who refuse to enter the gender, non-binary or transgender mold in search of official recognition of their sexual identity, as well as non-fertile couples tempted to use the services of a surrogate mother, are among the people who are likely to be very disappointed in the coming months of the Legault government.
The issue: the reform of family law, awaited for years and promised by the government, but still in the waiting room,
a few months before the election deadline.
Everything indicates that the vast reform orchestrated by the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, with his Bill 2, is destined, in all likelihood, to die on the order paper by the end of this mandate.
This is at least the unanimous observation made by the three opposition parties, in an interview with The Canadian Press over the past few days, who blamed Minister Jolin-Barrette in chorus for his "erratic" way of managing parliamentary business.
A simple glance at the timetable for parliamentary proceedings, which will end on 10 June, makes the three opposition parties say that the adoption of such a far-reaching reform in such a short time is practically impossible.
Bill 2, which will amend the Civil Code, aims to bring family law up to date, frozen in time since the early 80s,
while mores have evolved since then.
A new legislative framework that sweeps very broadly on several sensitive social issues, the document stretches over 116 pages and contains no less than 360 articles. Normally, a bill of this magnitude may require months of work in committee. However, clause-by-clause consideration has not yet begun, and it is still not on schedule.
Taking into account the days cut for the upcoming study of departmental appropriations and the weeks of parliamentary recess, the minister would have at best about four weeks left to pass his reform. It is too little, too late, according to the elected officials consulted.
"The magnitude of the social implications of this bill is such that we cannot study it properly, even if we go fast, in four weeks," calculates the Liberal official opposition critic on justice issues, Gaétan Barrette.
a few months before the election deadline.
Everything indicates that the vast reform orchestrated by the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, with his Bill 2, is destined, in all likelihood, to die on the order paper by the end of this mandate.
This is at least the unanimous observation made by the three opposition parties, in an interview with The Canadian Press over the past few days, who blamed Minister Jolin-Barrette in chorus for his "erratic" way of managing parliamentary business.
A simple glance at the timetable for parliamentary proceedings, which will end on 10 June, makes the three opposition parties say that the adoption of such a far-reaching reform in such a short time is practically impossible.
Bill 2, which will amend the Civil Code, aims to bring family law up to date, frozen in time since the early 80s,
while mores have evolved since then.
A new legislative framework that sweeps very broadly on several sensitive social issues, the document stretches over 116 pages and contains no less than 360 articles. Normally, a bill of this magnitude may require months of work in committee. However, clause-by-clause consideration has not yet begun, and it is still not on schedule.
Taking into account the days cut for the upcoming study of departmental appropriations and the weeks of parliamentary recess, the minister would have at best about four weeks left to pass his reform. It is too little, too late, according to the elected officials consulted.
"The magnitude of the social implications of this bill is such that we cannot study it properly, even if we go fast, in four weeks," calculates the Liberal official opposition critic on justice issues, Gaétan Barrette.
It is downright "impossible to achieve" by the end of the session, adds the PQ spokeswoman, MP Véronique Hivon, who does not hide her "complete frustration" with the way Minister Jolin-Barrette, who is also House Leader, has managed the file.
"If he is not able to do it because he is overwhelmed, let us change ministers! That he pass the puck to someone else by the end of the legislature, "suggests solidarity MP Alexandre Leduc, convinced that the minister has already mourned this reform, in favor of the new linguistic arrangement included in Bill 96, since he is also responsible for the French language. "I assume he gave up," he says, but didn't have "the courage" to announce it. Bill 96 is still under consideration.
In the ranks of the opposition, he is accused of having waited until the end of the mandate to table two major reform projects (language and family law), each of which contains hundreds of articles, thus placing himself in a position that practically forces him to sacrifice one.
If the minister were ever tempted, under the circumstances, to impose a gag order to pass his reform at all costs, at full steam, the three opposition parties warn him: it will not pass.
"It would really be the height of arrogance," according to Mr. Barrette, who would consider such a gesture
by the government "intellectually dishonest".
"It's not true that we're going to go through this before the end of June and it's not true that we're going to decide to stop asking questions and not doing our job," especially given the importance and high number of social issues involved, adds Mr. Leduc.
"If he is not able to do it because he is overwhelmed, let us change ministers! That he pass the puck to someone else by the end of the legislature, "suggests solidarity MP Alexandre Leduc, convinced that the minister has already mourned this reform, in favor of the new linguistic arrangement included in Bill 96, since he is also responsible for the French language. "I assume he gave up," he says, but didn't have "the courage" to announce it. Bill 96 is still under consideration.
In the ranks of the opposition, he is accused of having waited until the end of the mandate to table two major reform projects (language and family law), each of which contains hundreds of articles, thus placing himself in a position that practically forces him to sacrifice one.
If the minister were ever tempted, under the circumstances, to impose a gag order to pass his reform at all costs, at full steam, the three opposition parties warn him: it will not pass.
"It would really be the height of arrogance," according to Mr. Barrette, who would consider such a gesture
by the government "intellectually dishonest".
"It's not true that we're going to go through this before the end of June and it's not true that we're going to decide to stop asking questions and not doing our job," especially given the importance and high number of social issues involved, adds Mr. Leduc.
One thing is certain, says the member, Mr. Jolin-Barrette, as leader, has the power to prioritize bills and he has not prioritized this one.
None of the three elected officials is surprised, believing that the fate of Bill 2 reflects the general organization of parliamentary business under the leadership of Mr. Jolin-Barrette. Véronique Hivon speaks of an "erratic management". Alexandre Leduc believes that he does not have "much consideration for his colleagues in the opposition, even rather the opposite".
None of the three elected officials is surprised, believing that the fate of Bill 2 reflects the general organization of parliamentary business under the leadership of Mr. Jolin-Barrette. Véronique Hivon speaks of an "erratic management". Alexandre Leduc believes that he does not have "much consideration for his colleagues in the opposition, even rather the opposite".
Bill 2 was introduced on October 21, a move followed by a brief consultation dispatched in four days in early December. Then, nothing.
Officially, Minister Jolin-Barrette, who did not respond to a request for an interview on the subject, maintains that he still has the objective of having his reform adopted by the end of this Parliament.
The Liberal opposition tried to propose splitting the voluminous bill, to pass at least part of it by June, but the government refused.
The Minister of Justice had no choice but to legislate on the specific issue of gender, having to comply with the judgment of the Superior Court, pronounced by Justice Gregory Moore on January 28, 2021 and rendering null and void several articles of the Civil Code deemed discriminatory.
According to this decision, Quebec had to ensure that all forms of discrimination relating to the designation of gender in documents issued by the Directeur de l'état civil were eliminated. We must no longer force someone to identify as male or female. It was also necessary to add the possibility of entering the mention of parent, instead of father or mother, when drawing up the birth certificate of a child.
"Get out of my bobettes!"As soon as it was tabled, Bill 2 had led to an outcry. Brandishing the slogan "Get out of my stubs!" the LGBTQ+ community accused the minister of "transphobia" because he initially planned that a person wanting to change sex legally had to go through the scalpel first.
Those who would have refused surgery could have acquired a dual gender and sex identity, so for example, to appear male, but female.
However, some saw this as a step backwards, as this requirement was officially abolished in 2013.
Faced with the outcry from the community, which saw it as a "forced coming-out", the minister backed down and pledged to table amendments to eliminate the requirement for genital surgery to change the sex designation on official documents. But it has not yet been done.
Last year, 659 sex change applications were authorized in Quebec. The number is constantly increasing.
In addition to issues of gender and the regulation of procreation for others, Bill 2 intervenes on a host of other subjects, including the number of first names on official documents, the rules of filiation, including the presumption of paternity for common-law partners, information disclosed to adopted children, the rights of the child growing up in a home marked by violence, questions of parental authority in cases of violence and deprivation of such authority, as well as the right of the child born to a surrogate mother to know of his or her origins.
Officially, Minister Jolin-Barrette, who did not respond to a request for an interview on the subject, maintains that he still has the objective of having his reform adopted by the end of this Parliament.
The Liberal opposition tried to propose splitting the voluminous bill, to pass at least part of it by June, but the government refused.
The Minister of Justice had no choice but to legislate on the specific issue of gender, having to comply with the judgment of the Superior Court, pronounced by Justice Gregory Moore on January 28, 2021 and rendering null and void several articles of the Civil Code deemed discriminatory.
According to this decision, Quebec had to ensure that all forms of discrimination relating to the designation of gender in documents issued by the Directeur de l'état civil were eliminated. We must no longer force someone to identify as male or female. It was also necessary to add the possibility of entering the mention of parent, instead of father or mother, when drawing up the birth certificate of a child.
"Get out of my bobettes!"As soon as it was tabled, Bill 2 had led to an outcry. Brandishing the slogan "Get out of my stubs!" the LGBTQ+ community accused the minister of "transphobia" because he initially planned that a person wanting to change sex legally had to go through the scalpel first.
Those who would have refused surgery could have acquired a dual gender and sex identity, so for example, to appear male, but female.
However, some saw this as a step backwards, as this requirement was officially abolished in 2013.
Faced with the outcry from the community, which saw it as a "forced coming-out", the minister backed down and pledged to table amendments to eliminate the requirement for genital surgery to change the sex designation on official documents. But it has not yet been done.
Last year, 659 sex change applications were authorized in Quebec. The number is constantly increasing.
In addition to issues of gender and the regulation of procreation for others, Bill 2 intervenes on a host of other subjects, including the number of first names on official documents, the rules of filiation, including the presumption of paternity for common-law partners, information disclosed to adopted children, the rights of the child growing up in a home marked by violence, questions of parental authority in cases of violence and deprivation of such authority, as well as the right of the child born to a surrogate mother to know of his or her origins.
JOCELYNE RICHER
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Bill 2| The opposition doubts the adoption of the reform of family law | The Press (lapresse.ca)
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Bill 2| The opposition doubts the adoption of the reform of family law | The Press (lapresse.ca)
