Quebec wants to take ownership of family matters from the Superior Court
(Quebec) The Legault government wants to strip the Superior Court, which is under federal jurisdiction, of its family matters and entrust them to a unified Family Court within the Court of Quebec.
The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, took a first step in this direction on Tuesday by tabling his Bill 91.
"This is a first step so that all jurisdictions are under the same umbrella," he said at a press conference in parliament, deploring the "labyrinthine path" of some families.
Bill 91 is the result of a recommendation by the Laurent Commission: it seeks to simplify the processing of family matters, through mediation and conciliation, but also to formally entrust elements of the new family law regime established by the Minister, namely civil unions, parental unions and surrogate pregnancies. to the new Unified Tribunal.
The minister even invited Ottawa in advance not to challenge his approach.
For constitutional reasons, we should not make it more difficult for Quebec families who are experiencing family disputes.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec Minister of Justice
Currently, in matters of youth protection, adoption and criminal matters, in cases of family, domestic or sexual violence, it is the Court of Québec that decides. It also processes applications relating to the custody of a child when it is already
seized of an adoption or child protection file.
But the Superior Court has exclusive jurisdiction over divorce, including child support claims, access or custody, and division of property.
Ultimately, Mr. Jolin-Barrette wants the Court of Quebec to be able to recover this area of jurisdiction as well.
According to him, "family law embodies our civil law tradition and our distinct social values," he pleaded.
Family law is at the heart of what contributes to making Quebec a profoundly different society and must take into account the cultural, legal and institutional specificities that characterize our nation.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec Minister of Justice
He deplores the fact that currently, families sometimes have to "navigate" between the Court of Quebec and the Superior Court.
The Minister recalled a case raised by the Laurent Commission.
It was a five-year-old child whose custody had been entrusted to his father by a judgment of the Superior Court after a separation, while the mother had to pay support.
After a report, the DYP confirmed that the child was the victim of physical abuse by the father. The DYP obtained from the Youth Division of the Court of Québec that the child be entrusted to the mother. The mother then had to go to
the Superior Court to modify the custody and alimony.
Then, at the end of an investigation, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions laid criminal charges against the father in the Criminal and Penal Division of the Court of Québec.
"This labyrinthine journey is [...] of unspeakable complexity," said Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
But his bill does not yet address it. However, he wants to simplify the trajectory of families by promoting
the principle of "one family, one judge".
In addition, it would impose a mediation process for parents in a parental union or in a civil union who separate, in order to avoid the litigation of the dispute if possible.
Parents with common dependent children would be entitled to five hours of free mediation, those without a common child to three hours.
Subsequently, if there is an agreement, they would have access to a homologation service to have their agreement ratified without having to appear before a judge. This would expand the probate assistance service already in place.
And if mediation fails, the parents, if they both agree, should begin a conciliation process before a judge and if an agreement is reached, the judge will formalize it.
Otherwise, the magistrate will hold a summary hearing on the same day to decide and a judgment will be rendered no later than 30 days after the hearing.
It should be noted that the CAQ government has made significant changes in family law in recent years.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette has thus modernized the rules of filiation, knowledge of origins and regulated surrogacy. He also created the parental union, a new Quebec regime for common-law spouses with children.
The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, took a first step in this direction on Tuesday by tabling his Bill 91.
"This is a first step so that all jurisdictions are under the same umbrella," he said at a press conference in parliament, deploring the "labyrinthine path" of some families.
Bill 91 is the result of a recommendation by the Laurent Commission: it seeks to simplify the processing of family matters, through mediation and conciliation, but also to formally entrust elements of the new family law regime established by the Minister, namely civil unions, parental unions and surrogate pregnancies. to the new Unified Tribunal.
The minister even invited Ottawa in advance not to challenge his approach.
For constitutional reasons, we should not make it more difficult for Quebec families who are experiencing family disputes.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec Minister of Justice
Currently, in matters of youth protection, adoption and criminal matters, in cases of family, domestic or sexual violence, it is the Court of Québec that decides. It also processes applications relating to the custody of a child when it is already
seized of an adoption or child protection file.
But the Superior Court has exclusive jurisdiction over divorce, including child support claims, access or custody, and division of property.
Ultimately, Mr. Jolin-Barrette wants the Court of Quebec to be able to recover this area of jurisdiction as well.
According to him, "family law embodies our civil law tradition and our distinct social values," he pleaded.
Family law is at the heart of what contributes to making Quebec a profoundly different society and must take into account the cultural, legal and institutional specificities that characterize our nation.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec Minister of Justice
He deplores the fact that currently, families sometimes have to "navigate" between the Court of Quebec and the Superior Court.
The Minister recalled a case raised by the Laurent Commission.
It was a five-year-old child whose custody had been entrusted to his father by a judgment of the Superior Court after a separation, while the mother had to pay support.
After a report, the DYP confirmed that the child was the victim of physical abuse by the father. The DYP obtained from the Youth Division of the Court of Québec that the child be entrusted to the mother. The mother then had to go to
the Superior Court to modify the custody and alimony.
Then, at the end of an investigation, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions laid criminal charges against the father in the Criminal and Penal Division of the Court of Québec.
"This labyrinthine journey is [...] of unspeakable complexity," said Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
But his bill does not yet address it. However, he wants to simplify the trajectory of families by promoting
the principle of "one family, one judge".
In addition, it would impose a mediation process for parents in a parental union or in a civil union who separate, in order to avoid the litigation of the dispute if possible.
Parents with common dependent children would be entitled to five hours of free mediation, those without a common child to three hours.
Subsequently, if there is an agreement, they would have access to a homologation service to have their agreement ratified without having to appear before a judge. This would expand the probate assistance service already in place.
And if mediation fails, the parents, if they both agree, should begin a conciliation process before a judge and if an agreement is reached, the judge will formalize it.
Otherwise, the magistrate will hold a summary hearing on the same day to decide and a judgment will be rendered no later than 30 days after the hearing.
It should be noted that the CAQ government has made significant changes in family law in recent years.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette has thus modernized the rules of filiation, knowledge of origins and regulated surrogacy. He also created the parental union, a new Quebec regime for common-law spouses with children.
