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Bill proposes shared parenting for Canada

By michael - Last updated: Thursday, March 25, 2010 - Save & Share - One Comment

Bill C-422 is a private member’s bill that intends to potentially change Canada’s Divorce Act. It wants judges to grant equal shared parenting in the majority of custody disputes – unless abuse is involved and it’s proven so. The Bill is so far just another victim of the proroguing of Parliament this winter and was delayed significantly, but now that Parliament is back in session it may be back on the table.

Supporters of Bill C-422 say that the current system lacks objectivity and that fathers are being “shortchanged”, while opponents of Bill C-422 say that the bill is unnecessary and will only be bad news for mothers and children.

When it first came to the surface in 2009, the bill brought with it concerns about women’s and children’s rights during a divorce. Equal parenting would make it mandatory for the couples to determine how the custody will be divided and would necessitate half of the time spent with one parent and the other half of the time spent with the other parent. Equal parenting would also do away with child support as we know it for most families. Many other countries such as Australia and Great Britain as well some US states support equal parenting.

Many men’s groups are saying that judges are biased towards them, or that their ex-spouses can make allegations of abuse – that turn out to be false – that sway the judges’ decisions anyway. The London Free Press reported on the Bill recently quoting a domestic violence expert who said, “there are cases that involve false allegations, but they’re a small minority.” He also said that the current court system is designed to find these cases of abuse and ignore false allegations, while there are too few victims of domestic violence even in 2010 that seek out help.

The bill was delayed and re-introduced in early March, but a vote has not yet been scheduled.

Posted in Child Custody in Ontario, Divorce, Divorce Lawyer • Tags: , • Top Of Page

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One Response to “Bill proposes shared parenting for Canada”

Comment from Clint
Time August 4, 2010 at 11:06 am

This issue should not be swept under the rug…I have been trying to get 50/50 custody for a year and a half now and the judges are started to see through my ex wife’s garbage but I am still stuck at 55/45 in her favor. My ex and I agreed that we would share our son 50/50 until her lawyer got involved and that changed immediately…I recently filed for 50/50 with the court and they cross filed with full custody giving me “generous” access every second weekend from Saturday at noon to Sunday at 9:00 am. Obviously, they didn’t win. It has been a huge waste of money and the only one winning is her lawyer. The government needs to step up and get with the times…there are good fathers and bad fathers out there just like there are good moms and bad moms…don’t punish the good moms and dad’s out there. Equal shared parenting is the way to go. No one parent loves their children more than the other. 50/50 needs to happen now.

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