CEPC Issued a summary rebuttal to the CBA Statement of Opposition to the popular Equal Parenting Bill C-560. In the summary, there were links to the details. This post covers CBA Claim #3.
CBA Claim #3
“The bill is based on the faulty assumption that equal parenting time will work for all families, regardless of abilities, circumstances, needs, history, challenges or attitudes of all those involved.”
CEPC Response:
There are several occurrences of the words “equal” or “equally” in the English text of Equal Parenting Bill C-560 here:
- Equal parenting” [several occurrences related to summary descriptions of the Act]
- Defining a “rebuttable presumption” of equal parenting requiring judges to apply the principle of equal parenting except when the child(ren)’s best interests would be “substantially enhanced by allocating parental responsibility other than equally.”
- Preamble, para. “(d) establish that the interests of the child are best served through maximal ongoing parental involvement with the child, and that the rebuttable presumption of equal parenting is the starting point for judicial deliberations.”
- Making parenting orders: “(4)(a) apply the presumption that allocating parenting time equally between the spouses is in the best interests of a child of the marriage”
- Non-application of presumptions: “(5) The presumptions referred to in subsection(4) are rebutted if it is established that the best interests of the child would be substantially enhanced by allocating parenting time or responsibility other than equally.”
- Reasons for decision: “(18) If the court makes an order under this section that does not provide for equal parenting time or equal parenting responsibility, the court shall, in its reasons for its decision, explain in detail why such an order was made notwithstanding the principles for parenting orders set out in this section.”
We have reviewed all paragraphs where the words “equal” or “equally” appear in Bill C-560. None of those paragraphs take away the Judge’s discretion to assess the child’s best interests, and to make an order which allocates parenting time or parental responsibility unequally. All that is required is that the judge make a finding based on the unique facts of the case that the child(ren)’s best interests would be substantially enhanced by an unequal allocation of time or responsibility, and that the Judge’s reasons describe the finding in detail.
Again, the CEPC concludes that the CBA Statement misrepresents Bill C-560.
English (Canada) 
Français du Canada