Parentage committee considers whether counselling should be required in connection with agreements under part 3 of the Family Law Act

At its second committee meeting in October 2022, BCLI’s Parentage Law Reform Project Committee considered whether parties to an agreement respecting parentage under part 3 of the Family Law Act should be required to obtain psychosocial counselling in connection with that agreement. Counselling differs from independent legal advice, which is sometimes required as a part of these agreements. Counselling addresses the personal and social dynamics of the parties. It is widely considered to be an Read more…

Nova Scotia consulting on reforms to parentage laws

The Access to Justice and Law Reform Institute of Nova Scotia has just published a discussion paper seeking the public’s views on its proposals to reform the law of parentage in that province. In its Parentage Act Discussion Paper (PDF), the institute notes that “Nova Scotia is the only jurisdiction in Canada that lacks parentage legislation.” The discussion paper sets out a plan to address this situation by “discuss[ing] how Nova Scotia can and should Read more…

BCLI congratulates former Board Chair Hon. Ronald A. Skolrood on appointment to Court of Appeal

BCLI congratulates the Hon. Ronald A. Skolrood on his elevation to the British Columbia Court of Appeal, announced by the Minister of Justice last week, October 24, 2022.  Prior to his appointment as a justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2013, Justice Skolrood was a member of BCLI’s Board of Directors from 2004-2010, and Chair from 2007-2010.  He led BCLI through a period of transition and challenge.  The directors and staff of Read more…

Project Update: Summary of Themes from Consultations on Engaging People Living with Dementia in Decision-Making

Introduction The Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL) is collaborating on a three-year project. Our goal is to change how healthcare decision-making is approached so that the rights of people living with dementia are respected and they participate as much as possible in the decisions that matter to them. The need for the project was identified in a previous project on Health Care Consent. For more project background, see our project webpage. View this short Read more…

Parentage Committee Completes Its Review Of Surrogacy Arrangements

At its latest committee meeting—held earlier this month—BCLI’s Parentage Law Reform Project Committee tackled a pair of emerging issues concerning the law of parentage and surrogacy arrangements. These issues may point to some gaps in part 3 of the Family Law Act that may need to be filled with new legislation. First, the committee examined so-called traditional surrogacies. These are surrogacy arrangements in which the surrogate is linked both genetically and gestationally to the child. Read more…