Expand unified family courts

The Family Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association wrote to Justice Minister David Lametti to express its continued support for the expansion of Unified Family Courts, or UFCs, across the country.

The Section is grateful for the significant federal funding for UFCs contained in the 2018 federal budget. Section members “witness the benefits of UFCs in their daily practice, such as distinct procedures and a specialized bench with substantive and procedural expertise in family law,” the letter reads.

Family law is an area of shared jurisdiction. As the federal government recognizes, a non-unified approach is stressful, confusing and financially expensive for separating families and their children. Having two parallel court systems also contributes to increased delays in processing cases.

The CBA Section agrees with the federal government that UFCs “resolve issues more efficiently. They increase access to justice by reducing confusion, delay, jurisdictional conflicts, multiplicity of litigation and by centralizing specialized judges and family justice services.”

Benefits, the letter adds, that are especially important for survivors of family violence and other marginalized and vulnerable communities.

As the funding for UFCs contained in the 2018 budget comes to an end, “the CBA Section supports continued federal funding for all jurisdictions that wish to implement or expand UFCs.” Including by maintaining a full judicial complement in federal-jurisdiction courts to ensure access to justice and to maintain public confidence in our justice system.

“Given the demonstrated need for more judges and the proven benefits of UFCs, we trust that the federal government will work with its provincial and territorial counterparts to remove any barriers to the proper functioning of the justice system,” the CBA letter concludes.