{"id":17721,"date":"2020-11-06T11:22:32","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T16:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/?post_type=news&p=17721"},"modified":"2020-11-06T11:22:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T16:22:32","slug":"leaf-and-west-coast-leaf-advocate-for-fairness-and-certainty-in-child-support-regime-at-the-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/leaf-and-west-coast-leaf-advocate-for-fairness-and-certainty-in-child-support-regime-at-the-supreme-court\/","title":{"rendered":"LEAF and West Coast LEAF\u00a0advocate for fairness and certainty in child support regime\u00a0at the Supreme Court\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On November 4, the Supreme Court of Canada heard arguments in a family law case from Ontario that will significantly affect women and children\u2019s poverty. LEAF and West Coast LEAF<\/a>, represented pro bono by Jennifer Klinck and Joshua Sealy-Harrington (Power Law), intervened in the appeal to highlight the social reality that child support in Canada is chronically underpaid and overwhelmingly gendered. We went to court to propose a framework for deciding applications to retroactively modify child support orders that will account for these social realities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This case is about a father who, for 16 years, repeatedly\u202funderpaid child support to a mother, resulting in a debt of more than\u202f$170,000. During that time, the father failed to disclose his income, rarely made voluntary support payments, and absconded twice without notice to his family or the Family Responsibility Office overseeing his support\u2014first to the United States, and then to Italy. After his children no longer qualified for ongoing support because they were grown, the father applied to substantially rescind his debt. The Superior Court of Justice granted the father a retroactive reduction in child support arrears, reducing his debt to $41,642.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u202fCourt of Appeal for Ontario<\/a>\u202foverturned this decision, and now, the Supreme Court of Canada will have the last word. In\u202fdoing so, it will decide the factors that should be taken into account when\u202fa judge is deciding whether to retroactively reduce, or retroactively increase, the child support that someone owes. This will have a significant impact on whether children and their caregivers are provided with the support they need and are legally entitled to receive.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LEAF & West Coast LEAF\u2019s\u202fargument<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

LEAF\u202fand\u202fWest Coast LEAF intervened in this case to provide the Supreme Court with an accurate picture of how child support is paid (or not paid)\u202facross Canada.\u202fThe reality is that child support is dramatically underpaid and overwhelmingly gendered.\u202fThe economic destinies of women and children are intertwined,\u202fas most children continue to live with their mothers after relationship breakdown.\u202fIn the vast majority of cases, it is the father who is supposed to pay child support to the mother, and it is the father who fails to do so.\u202fOur intervention also highlights\u202fthe\u202finterconnectedness of\u202fchild support and intimate partner violence; in abusive relationships, financial\u202fabuse\u202fand threats are often present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab\u00a0Unpaid child support is a key driver of the feminization of poverty,\u201d says Kate Feeney, Director of Litigation at West Coast LEAF. \u201cThe bottom line is that single mother-led families are missing out on billions of dollars of unpaid child support, money which could be paying for essentials such as safe and secure housing, heathy food, and warm clothing.\u00a0\u00bb <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our arguments are directly in line with two recent decisions of the Supreme Court that draw connections between the gendered nature of caregiving and women\u2019s and children\u2019s poverty. In Michel v. <\/em>Graydon<\/em><\/a>, another judgment  about child support that was issued by the Supreme Court in September 2020, Justice Martin (concurring) wrote that \u201c[t]oday, women still bear the bulk of child care and custody obligations and <\/em>earn less money than men, so women\u2019s poverty remains inextricably linked to child poverty\u201d. And in Fraser v. Canada (Attorney General)<\/em><\/a>, decided by the Court in October, Justice Abella\u2019s majority decision unreservedly made this link as well, stating that \u201cthe uneven division <\/strong>of childcare responsibilities is one of the \u2018persistent systemic disadvantages [that] have operated to limit the opportunities available\u2019 to women in Canadian society.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Colucci v. Colucci<\/em>, LEAF and West Coast LEAF have proposed a simple framework to the Court that will allow\u202fjudges\u202fto take women and children\u2019s substantive equality into account each time\u202fthey are asked to retroactively modify a child support order. We argue that in addition to being fair and socially just, taking women and children\u2019s substantive equality into account\u202fis\u202frequired to\u202ffulfill the objective of the child support regime \u2013 providing for children\u2019s welfare.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChild support issues rarely make their way to this court due to the high cost of appeals and the comparatively low value of awards,\u201d co-counsel Jennifer Klinck said at the hearing. \u201cWith that in mind, LEAF and West Coast LEAF intervene to invite this court to simplify the framework governing child support variations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We eagerly await the Court\u2019s decision in Colucci<\/em>. <\/em>We hope to see a re-developed child support regime that will go some way to addressing women\u2019s substantive inequality in family law matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Link to webcast of hearing at Supreme Court of Canada, November 4, 2020, 9:30 a.m. here<\/a> \u2013 Jennifer Klinck, co-counsel for LEAF & West Coast LEAF, appears at 2:05:18 of the webcast.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Case committee<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

LEAF\u2019s interventions are guided, informed and supported by a case committee composed of academics and practitioners with expertise in the relevant issues.\u202fWe are\u202fvery\u202fgrateful to the\u202fColucci<\/em>\u202f<\/em>case committee members\u202f(in alphabetical order): Natasha Bakht (University of Ottawa); Vicky Law (Rise Women\u2019s Legal Centre); and Deepa Mattoo and Tamar\u202fWitelson\u202f(Barbra\u202fSchlifer\u202fCommemorative Clinic).\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\u202fmore\u202fbackground and judicial history of the case, see our earlier\u202fannouncement<\/a>\u202fwhen LEAF\u202fand\u202fWest Coast LEAF filed written submissions in the case in August.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF):\u202f<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) works to advance the substantive equality rights of women and girls through litigation, law reform, and public education. Since 1985, LEAF has intervened in landmark cases that have advanced equality in Canada\u2014helping to prevent violence, eliminate discrimination in the workplace, provide better maternity benefits, ensure a right to pay equity, and allow access to reproductive freedoms.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About West Coast LEAF:\u202f\u202f<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

West Coast LEAF is a non-profit organization formed in 1985, the year the equality guarantees of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force. West Coast LEAF\u2019s mandate is to use the law to create an equal and just society for all women and people who experience gender-based\u00a0discrimination in BC. In collaboration with community, we use litigation, law reform, and public legal education to make change. For more information, visit\u00a0http:\/\/www.westcoastleaf.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For media inquiries, contact:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Klinck, Partner\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Power Law | Juristes Power <\/p>\n\n\n\n

604-239-0984  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

jklinck@powerlaw.ca<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cee Strauss, Staff Lawyer\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund <\/p>\n\n\n\n

514-586-5042 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

c.strauss@leaf.ca<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17721","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLEAF and West Coast LEAF\u00a0advocate for fairness and certainty in child support regime\u00a0at the Supreme Court\u00a0 - LEAF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/leaf-and-west-coast-leaf-advocate-for-fairness-and-certainty-in-child-support-regime-at-the-supreme-court\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LEAF and West Coast LEAF\u00a0advocate for fairness and certainty in child support regime\u00a0at the Supreme Court\u00a0 - LEAF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On November 4, the Supreme Court of Canada heard arguments in a family law case from Ontario that will significantly affect women and children\u2019s poverty. LEAF and West Coast LEAF, represented pro bono by Jennifer Klinck and Joshua Sealy-Harrington (Power Law), intervened in the appeal to highlight the social reality that child support in Canada is chronically underpaid and overwhelmingly gendered. We went to court to propose a […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/leaf-and-west-coast-leaf-advocate-for-fairness-and-certainty-in-child-support-regime-at-the-supreme-court\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LEAF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/leaf-and-west-coast-leaf-advocate-for-fairness-and-certainty-in-child-support-regime-at-the-supreme-court\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/leaf-and-west-coast-leaf-advocate-for-fairness-and-certainty-in-child-support-regime-at-the-supreme-court\/\",\"name\":\"LEAF and West Coast LEAF\u00a0advocate for fairness and certainty in child support regime\u00a0at the Supreme Court\u00a0 - 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