{"id":12541,"date":"2020-06-24T05:30:47","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T09:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/?p=12541"},"modified":"2025-05-01T18:44:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T22:44:29","slug":"resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Changes to the federal\u00a0<em>Divorce Act<\/em> came into force on March 1, 2021. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Interpreting-the-New-Divorce-Act.pdf\">this document<\/a>, former Member of LEAF\u2019s Board of Directors Susan B. Boyd (Professor Emerita, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia) and Linda C. Neilson (Professor Emerita, University of New Brunswick) provide a guide to properly interpreting the\u00a0<em>Divorce Act<\/em> in light of Observations published by the Senate and general rules of statutory interpretation. The document is now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FR-Interpreting-the-New-Divorce-Act.pdf\">also available in French<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These changes to the <em>Divorce Act <\/em>were long overdue. For the first time, a definition of \u00ab\u00a0family violence\u00a0\u00bb has been added to the <em>Act<\/em>, and family violence is now a mandatory consideration when determining the best interests of the child.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12549\" src=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1-620x798.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1-620x798.png 620w, https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1.png 663w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>LEAF testified at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/leaf-testifies-before-standing-committee-in-review-of-divorce-act\/\">House of Commons<\/a>\u00a0and submitted briefs to both the House of Commons and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sencanada.ca\/content\/sen\/committee\/421\/LCJC\/Briefs\/2019-06-07-LCJC_BriefLEAFC-78_e.pdf\">Senate<\/a>\u00a0on the changes to the\u00a0<em>Divorce Act<\/em>. While LEAF applauded many changes to the\u00a0<em>Act<\/em>, we also proposed amendments that would promote women\u2019s substantive equality and safety as well as children\u2019s safety, security and well-being. Several of our key concerns were picked up by the Senate Committee in its Observations, and serve as a base for this Interpretive Guide.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the\u00a0<i>Divorce Act<\/i>\u00a0will now state that one of the factors to take into account when assessing the best interests of the child is \u201cfamily violence\u201d. According to both the Senate Committee\u2019s Observations and principles of statutory interpretation, when thinking about family violence as a factor, people applying and working with the\u00a0<i>Act\u00a0<\/i>should keep in mind the well-documented reality that women and children are those most harmed by family violence. They should also be mindful of the potential consequences of awarding parental responsibilities to someone who engages in family violence. In our brief to the Senate Committee, we emphasized the highly gendered nature of family violence, specifically as a form of violence against women, and urged the Committee to recognize that \u201cthis gender imbalance directly affects the interests of children and needs to be considered in the application of the norms in Bill C-78.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Please share this guide, available in both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Interpreting-the-New-Divorce-Act.pdf\">English<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FR-Interpreting-the-New-Divorce-Act.pdf\">French<\/a>, widely with advocates, lawyers, and decision-makers working in family law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[183,25,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12541","publication","type-publication","status-publish","hentry","category-family-law","category-featured","category-whats-new"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\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\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\u00a0 - LEAF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Changes to the federal\u00a0Divorce Act came into force on March 1, 2021. In this document, former Member of LEAF\u2019s Board of Directors Susan B. Boyd (Professor Emerita, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia) and Linda C. Neilson (Professor Emerita, University of New Brunswick) provide a guide to properly interpreting the\u00a0Divorce Act [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LEAF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T22:44:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"663\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\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=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\\\/\",\"name\":\"Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\u00a0 - LEAF\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1-620x798.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-24T09:30:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-01T22:44:29+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1-620x798.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1-620x798.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Publications\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/publication\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/\",\"name\":\"LEAF\",\"description\":\"Women&#039;s Legal Education and Action Fund\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"LEAF\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/LEAF_FAEJ_hz_names_colour_rgb.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/LEAF_FAEJ_hz_names_colour_rgb.svg\",\"width\":612,\"height\":110,\"caption\":\"LEAF\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\u00a0 - LEAF","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\u00a0 - LEAF","og_description":"Changes to the federal\u00a0Divorce Act came into force on March 1, 2021. In this document, former Member of LEAF\u2019s Board of Directors Susan B. Boyd (Professor Emerita, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia) and Linda C. Neilson (Professor Emerita, University of New Brunswick) provide a guide to properly interpreting the\u00a0Divorce Act [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/","og_site_name":"LEAF","article_modified_time":"2025-05-01T22:44:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":663,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/","url":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/","name":"Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\u00a0 - LEAF","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1-620x798.png","datePublished":"2020-06-24T09:30:47+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-01T22:44:29+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1-620x798.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Snapshot-of-Divorce-Act-Guide-1-620x798.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/resource-interpretive-guide-to-the-new-divorce-act\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Publications","item":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/publication\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Resource: Interpretive Guide to the new\u00a0Divorce Act\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/","name":"LEAF","description":"Women&#039;s Legal Education and Action Fund","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"LEAF","url":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LEAF_FAEJ_hz_names_colour_rgb.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LEAF_FAEJ_hz_names_colour_rgb.svg","width":612,"height":110,"caption":"LEAF"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/12541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publication"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}