Planning begins for unified family court
Alberta is establishing a unified family court to improve access to the justice system and provide a more positive experience for family law litigants.
On April 23, Alberta Justice announced that the government has accepted or accepted in principle all of the recommendations of the Unified Family Court Task Force’s report.
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Marlene Graham, MLA, Calgary-Lougheed |
The announcement marks the next phase in the project that began in March 2000 with the creation of the Unified Family Court Task Force, led by Marlene Graham, MLA, Calgary-Lougheed.
The task force led a comprehensive consultation and review of family court structures in Alberta and made recommendations to the government as to how these structures and services for Alberta families could be improved.
An implementation committee has been struck to develop the plan that will guide the creation of the unified family court. Marlene Graham will chair the committee, which also includes Leduc MLA Albert Klapstein, Justice Marguerite Trussler, Assistant Chief Judge Janet Franklin, Rhonda Ruston, Q.C., Vic Tousignant, Q.C., Nancy Brown Medwid, Michael Savaryn, Keray Henke, Virginia McLaughlin and Geoff Ho, Q.C.
The committee will consider services including mediation, court assistance, parenting courses and information for self-represented litigants, as well as the timelines for implementation.
In addition, the committee will review family court fees with a view of providing better access to justice and will participate in a revision of the Family Law Rules of Court to create more user-friendly procedures.
For more information, visit the Unified Family Court page on the Alberta Justice website at www.gov.ab.ca/just (click on “Initiatives and Events”).
New bill update and simplify provincial family law
The provincial government has introduced a new bill to make family law simpler and easier for Albertans to understand.
The Family Law Act, Bill 45, updates Alberta legislation in a number of areas including spousal and adult interdependent partner support, child support, guardianship, parenting orders (formerly custody and access) and child contact orders. The legislation will also abolish seldom-used legal actions that no longer reflect current understandings of personal relationships.
The bill follows more than two years of work through the Family Law Reform Project—a comprehensive review of family legislation and consultation with the legal community, justice stakeholders and Albertans. The bill also includes the recommendations of the Alberta Law Reform Institute, and the MLA Review of the Maintenance Enforcement Program and Child Access (1998) and reflects proposed changes to the federal government’s Divorce Act.
The Family Law Act draws the Domestic Relations Act, Maintenance Order Act, Parentage and Maintenance Act, and family law provisions of the Provincial Court Act under a single piece of legislation.
The bill was introduced during the final week of the spring sitting of the Alberta Legislature and will be carried over for debate in the fall.
For more information or to read the bill, visit the Family Law Reform Project page on the Alberta Justice website at www.gov.ab.ca/just
Adult Interdependent Relationships Act comes into force
New legislation outlining the benefits and obligations of Albertans living in unmarried, committed relationships of financial and emotional interdependency came into force June 1.
Regulations developed since the bill’s passage last fall outline how the act applies to programs such as Health Care Premiums, and how to create a proper adult interdependent partner agreement.
For more information, visit www.gov.ab.ca/just
