The 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 (Bill C-78) received Royal Assent on June 21st, 2019.

This legislation has four key objectives:

• promote the best interests of the child
• address family violence
• help to reduce child poverty
• make Canada’s family justice system more accessible and efficient

For more information, please consult the updated Justice Canada website at https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/cfl-mdf/index.html  or access the version of the Bill that received Royal Assent at https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-78/royal-assent#ID0EZC.

We are attaching for your information the “The Divorce Act Changes Explained” document which explains the changes and the reason for them for most of the amendments. This document should be  available online in the coming months.

While these changes likely won’t be proclaimed until July 2020, you should be alert for CLE opportunities, many of which will be offered for free on the Federal Department of Justice’s website.

Divorce Act Changes Explained