Order Fixing March 1, 2021 as the Day on Which Section 22.1 of that Act Comes into Force in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut: SI/2021-7
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 155, Number 6
Registration
SI/2021-7 March 17, 2021
AN ACT TO AMEND THE DIVORCE ACT, THE FAMILY ORDERS AND AGREEMENTS ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT AND THE GARNISHMENT, ATTACHMENT AND PENSION DIVERSION ACT AND TO MAKE CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO ANOTHER ACT
Order Fixing March 1, 2021 as the Day on Which Section 22.1 of that Act Comes into Force in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut
P.C. 2021-96 February 26, 2021
His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to subsection 126(3.1) of An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, chapter 16 of the Statutes of Canada, 2019, fixes March 1, 2021 as the day on which section 22.1 of that Act comes into force in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order.)
Proposal
Pursuant to subsection 126(3.1) of An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, the Order fixes March 1, 2021, as the day on which section 22.1 of that Act (language rights provision) comes into force in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut.
Objective
The objective of the Order in Council is to fix a specific date for the coming into force of the language rights provision under the amended Divorce Act in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut. The provision aims at making Canada's family justice system more accessible for official languages minority communities (OLMCs).
Background
Former Bill C-78, An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, which received royal assent on June 21, 2019, strengthens and modernizes Canada's family justice system, promotes access to justice and makes federal family laws more responsive to Canadian families' needs.
Through the amendments, the newly added language rights provision of the Divorce Act provides that proceedings may be conducted in French or English, or both. This includes the right to file pleadings or other documents, give evidence and make submissions in either official language. Parties also have the right to the following: simultaneous interpretation into the other official language upon request; a presiding judge who speaks the same official language, or both; and a transcript or recording of what was said in the official language in which it was said. The court would also be required, upon request, to make available any judgment or order rendered in a party's own official language. Finally, the provision provides that court forms must be made available in both English and French.
Former Bill C-78 provides provinces and territories with the flexibility needed to implement the new provision at different times, in light of their readiness to implement the language rights provision. Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut have expressed their readiness to implement the new language rights provision at the same time as other Divorce Act amendments on March 1, 2021.
Accordingly, the provision will be brought into force in the jurisdictions of Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut on March 1, 2021, through this Order.
Implications
This Order makes it clear when the language rights provision of the amended Divorce Act comes into force in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut.
Canadians living in OLMCs are a vibrant, growing population. According to the 2016 Census, more than one million Francophones live outside Quebec and over 1.1 million Anglophones live in Quebec.
Given the country's linguistic landscape, many separating or divorcing Canadians have difficulty resolving their legal issues in the official language that is not the language commonly used in their jurisdiction. Like other Canadians, they need access to the courts in the official language of their choice.
Implementation of the language rights provision in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut will ensure that members of these jurisdictions' respective OLMCs have access to family justice in the language of their choice. It will also increase the capacity of the courts to proceed in either official language.
Consultation
Consultations with the provinces and territories occurred through the Coordinating Committee of Senior Officials – Family Justice (CCSO-FJ) following the introduction of the language rights provision in the Divorce Act. Consultations also took place with organizations representing OLMCs, which had been advocating for those rights and responded very favourably to their inclusion in Bill C-78. For example, in a press release dated June 19, 2019 (available in French only), the Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de common law applauded Bill C-78 and called the new rights historic and significant ("historiques et significatifs"). The Minister of Justice hears regularly from Canadians on family law–related matters.
Contact
Marie-Josée Poirier
Counsel
Family Law and Youth Justice Policy Section
Department of Justice Canada
Email: marie-josee.poirier@justice.gc.ca