After decades of advocacy by women’s rights groups pressing for much needed changes to the Divorce Act, including by a coalition led by the National Association for Women and the Law (NAWL) and Luke’s Place, and the efforts of many feminists who engaged on Bill C-78; An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family…
NAWL Submission to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Présentation de l’ANFD au Comité sénatorial permanent des Affaires juridiques et constitutionnelles Submission by Pam Cross on behalf of the National Association of Women and the Law to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on possible amendments to Bill S-202,…
NAWL celebrates Mother’s Day by bringing a message to Parliament Hill on behalf of women across the country. Mother’s Day 2007 – Mothering in Law: Defending Women’s Rights in 2007 – What Women in Canada Need! Mother’s Day 2006 – On Mother’s Day, we celebrate our mothers and all they have done for us. Yet…
On June 16, 2009, Saskatoon-Wanuskawin Conservative Party MP Maurice Vellacott introduced Bill C-422 to the House of Commons. This Bill is the latest incarnation of a series of Bills, Motions and other legal and political maneouvrings that have attempted to eliminate the concepts of custody and access from the federal Divorce Act in favour of…
In celebration of Mother’s Day, the National Association of the Law brings to Parliament Hill a message on behalf of women across Quebec and the rest of Canada. For Mothers at Work: Improve Maternity and Parental Benefits for women living outside of Quebec NAWL recommends that the Federal Government expand the current maternity and parental…
In celebration of Mother’s Day, the National Association of the Law brings to Parliament Hill a message on behalf of women across Quebec and the rest of Canada. For Mothers at Work: Improve Maternity and Parental Benefits for women living outside of Quebec. NAWL recommends that the Federal Government expand the current maternity and parental…
Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler has recognized on more than one occasion that “women’s rights are human rights”. Yet he was ready to consider re-introducing Bill C-22 to amend the Divorce Act without any analysis whatsoever of the impact of proposed changes on women’s equality, security and other human rights. NAWL let him know why…
Cet article est disponible uniquement en anglais. The process of responding to the proposed amendments to the once “live” Bill C-22 sparked a series of continued conversations across Canada among Aboriginal women, women of colour, and immigrant and refugee women as to how race would and should be addressed within the Divorce Act. Although it…
Cet article est disponible uniquement en anglais. When Bill C-22, An Act to Amend the Divorce Act, died in November 2003, a long chapter in NAWL’s work on reforms to custody and access legislation came to a close. We now find ourselves in a position to consider the broader question of women’s equality within family…
Women remain the primary caregivers of children. Women are more likely to abandon professional and economic benefits in order to facilitate that relationship. When they separate or divorce, women are far more likely to end up in poverty than their former male partners. Women are often victims of spousal violence or abuse. Yet the legal…
Cet article est disponible uniquement en anglais. NAWL’s ongoing work in the area of custody and access has been focused on Bill C-22, An Act to Amend the Divorce Act, since Justice Minister Martin Cauchon introduced it into the House of Commons in December 2002. We have prepared a brief responding to the legislation, which…
Bill C-22 proposed amendments to the Divorce Act that could have a huge impact on women’s lives as well as on those of their families. NAWL wrote to Minister of Justice in French and to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in English to share our thoughts on Bill C-22. Letter to Minister…
On February 2003, Bill C-22, An Act Amending the Divorce Act was debated in the Second Reading in the House of Commons, and sent to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. In March, the Committee invited the Minister of Justice Martin Cauchon to present the Bill. He faced tough questions from the Canadian…
In December 2002, the federal Minister of Justice introduced Bill C-22. If enacted, the Bill will significantly change the child custody and access provisions of the Divorce Act. Women’s groups, including NAWL, have long called for changes to the Divorce Act to acknowledge the ways in which power imbalance, caregiving responsibility and woman abuse influence…
Reforms to Custody and Access Réformes à la garde et l’accès When the Minister of Justice announced his intention to introduce changes to the Divorce Act, he considered abandoning the concepts of custody and access in favour of notions such as “shared parenting” or “parental responsibility”. NAWL urged him to proceed with the utmost caution…
In the September 30th Throne Speech, the Chrétien government announced that the Divorce Act would be amended to better promote the best interest of the child, unified family courts would be expanded, and mediation and counselling would be encouraged in lieu of litigation. The commitment is very vague for a government that has been doing…
Cet article est disponible uniquement en anglais. This spring, the federal government will table a report to Parliament on proposed changes to the Divorce Act, relating to custody, access and child-support. This will be an important phase in the process started in 1997 when, in exchange for Senate support for the Child Support Guidelines, the…
