Volume 1, Number 1, 1978

Articles

• Reform of Matrimonial Property Law in Ontario – Winifred H. Holland

In the wake of the disappointing Supreme Court of Canada decision in the case of Mrs. Irene Murdoch, several provinces undertook serious reform of their laws affecting matrimonial property. This paper points out the defects of the existing law in and focuses in detail upon Ontario's anticipated "family assets" regime. The author analyses which property wll and will not be subject to ultimate division and what the criteria for division will be. She will also discuss the expected changes in the possessory rights to the matrimonial home and how these can affect transactions involving the home. Throughout this work, the author expresses occasional concern that the ills of the old law may still trouble the new "family assets" regime.


• A Social Science Approach to Family Dispute Resolution – Howard H. Irving & Peter E. Bohm

Divorce litigaiton is unique among all legal actions in that it is almost invariably accompanied by the most intense and intimate emotions. It is rarely a clear, cut and dried piece of business witha a clear beginning and end which can be handled and filed away. It is a painful process for all concerned - not the least of whom is the lawyer. The legal questions of custody, access and maintenance are often not the real issues but rather the means which divorced couples use to continue their involvement with each other. This paper attempts to identify some of the problems and to offer recommendations for improving the interdisciplinary aspects of dispute resolution.


• No-Fault Maintenance for Spouses – Vickie A. Kondo

Traditionally, maintenance awards to a wife have been based on concepts of fault or of punishment. Recently, the legislatures of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Prince Edward Island have introduced family law reform Bills which either exclude all consideration of marital misconduct from the right to maintenance or accord it only a token recognition. Drawing upon the case law of the United Kingdom, Australia and some of the United States, the author places before the legal profession some educated guesses how Canadian courts might be expected to deal with no-fault maintenance.


• Legal Responses to Child Abuse in Canada – Bernard M. Dickens

Because of the interlocking interests amongst the victim, the offender and the State, child abuse in law must be perceived as more than a mere assault. The author examines the inadequate statutory criteria for state intervention found in child protection legislation and suggests that the greater responsibility for identifying and reporting of child abuse should be placed upon professional persons. Criminal penalisation of the offender is too frequently incompatible with the child victim's long-term interests, and the author shows that Court-ordered wardships are not free of difficulty either. The judicial hearing is faced with certain evidentiary obstacles and with the lack of independent representation for the child. The author concludes with an assessment of the spreading use of child-abuse registers and of the dichotomours role of child welfare agencies as "friends" for and as "prosecution witnesses" against the family.


• The Viking Homes Saga: Group Home Placements for Juveniles – Myles F. McLellan

  Juvenile Courts, particularly in Ontario, have always assumed that they had the authority t commit delinquent children into the care and custody of private, corporate-operated group homes. However, a recent ruling of the Supreme Court of Ontario, upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal, had put and end to this idea when placements with "Viking Homes" were held to be beyondthe powers of a Juvenile Court. This paper examines the value of the group home programme to juvenile delinquents and analyses the two judgements in great detail to show that their reasoning is not entirely free of doubt.
  

Review of Periodical Literature

• W.R. Pepler: “Partition – A Survey of the Law of Alberta” (1977), 15 Alt. L. Rev. 1.
  
• Andre P. Dereyn, M.D. “A Case for Permanent Foster Placement of Dependent, Neglected and Abused Children” (1977), 47 American Journal of Psychiatry 604.
  
• Richard W. Bartke: “Ontario Bill 6, or How Not to Reform Marital Property Rights” (1977), 9 Ottawa L. Rev. 321.
  
• John A. Byles and Andrea Maurice (Faculty of Health Science, McMaster University) “The Juvenile Services Project” Report of the Department of Health and Welfare, Ottawa, February, 1977.
  
• Myles F. McLellan: “Jehovah’s Witnesses and Child Protection Legislation – The Right to Refuse Medical Consent” (1977), 1 Leg. & Med. Q. 37.
  
• Cornelia Schuh: “Variation of Final Orders Under Maintenance Reciprocity Legislation” (1977), 25 Chitty’s L.J. 159.
  
• Benjamin Schlesinger: “Divorce and Children: A Review of the Literature” (1976), 24 R.F.L. 203.
  
• Cornelia Schuh: “The Validity of Interim Orders Under Summary Maintenance Legislation” (1977), 25 Chitty’s L.J. 95.
  
• Howard Irving and Ernie Lightman: “Conciliation and Arbitration in Family Dispute” (1976), 14 Conciliation Courts Review (No. 1) 12.
  
• Jeffrey S. Leon: “The Development of Canadian Juvenile Justice – A Background for Reform” (1977), 15 Osgoode Hall L.J. 71.

In The Family Courts

• The Queen v. C.
  
• The Queen v. W.B.C.
  
• Drapeau v. Drapeau
  
• Zikman v. Zikman
  
• Hartley v. Hartley
  
• Re C.L.
  
• Davis v. Davis
  
• McLean v. McLean
  

Casenotes

• Juvenile Injustice in Manitoba (The Queen v. Metz) – Graham Parker
  
• Summary Maintenance Rehearings: Factors to be Considered (The Queen v. MacDonald; Townsend v. Townsend) – Gene Colman
  

Book Reviews

• Martin, Del. Battered Wives. Glide Publications, San Francisco, California. 1976. – Benjamin Schlesinger
  
• Johnstone, G.P. and Stephen W. Ireland (commentators). Family Law Audio Series. Developed by Legal Audio Services of Canada Ltd., Toronto, 1977. – P. Iapaolo
  
• Hackler, James. Why Delinquency Programs in Canada Should NOT Be Evaluated. Published by the University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1974. – Robin Lee Norris
  
• Menzies, S. June. New Directions for Public Policy: A Position Paper on the One-Parent Family. Published by the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Ottawa, 1976. – Jean M. McCallum
  
• Canadian Family Law Guide. Published by CCH Canadian Ltd., Don Mills, Ont., 1976. – Roman N. Komar

 

 

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