Order Fixing December 1, 2024 as the Day on Which Section 22.1 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 Comes into Force in British Columbia: SI/2024-46
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 21
Registration
SI/2024-46 October 9, 2024
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 December 1, 2024 as the Day on Which Section 22.1 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 Comes into Force in British Columbia
P.C. 2024-1028 September 20, 2024
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, under 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 December 1, 2024 as the day on which section 22.1 of that Act comes into force in British Columbia.
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 (former Bill C-78), the Order fixes December 1, 2024, as the day on which section 22.1 of that Act (language rights provision) comes into force in British Columbia.
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 British Columbia. The provision aims to make Canada’s family justice system more accessible for official language 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 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. The language rights provision is already in force in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut (2021), and in Ontario and Saskatchewan (2022). British Columbia has expressed that it will be ready to implement the new language rights provision on December 1, 2024. Accordingly, the provision will be brought into force in the jurisdiction of British Columbia on December 1, 2024, through this Order.
Implications
This Order specifies when the language rights provision of the amended Divorce Act comes into force in British Columbia.
Canadians living in OLMCs are a vibrant population and continue to grow. According to the 2021 Census, nearly one million Francophones live outside Quebec and over 1.25 million Anglophones live in Quebec.
Considering 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 local jurisdiction. Like other Canadians, they need access to the courts in the official language of their choice.
Implementation of the language rights provision in British Columbia will ensure that its OLMCs have access to family justice in the official 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 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 former 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 former Bill C-78 and called the new rights “historic and significant.” The Minister of Justice regularly hears from Canadians on family law-related matters.
Contacts
Stéfanie Gobeil
Counsel
Family Law and Youth Justice Policy Section
Justice Canada
Email: stefanie.gobeil@justice.gc.ca
Amanda Stuart
Counsel
Family Law and Youth Justice Policy Section
Justice Canada
Email: Amanda.Stuart@justice.gc.ca