Volume 22, Number 2, 2006
Articles
- Parental Relocation: Applying the Best Interests of the Child Test in Ontario - Nicholas Bala & Joanna Harris
- Proceeding with "Care": Lessons to be Learned from the Canadian Parental Leave and Québec Daycare Initiatives in Developing a National Childcare Policy - Angela Campbell
During the June 2004 and January 2006 federal election campaigns, the Liberal Party promised the creation of a universal, accessible childcare policy. Given the current scarcity of affordable, quality childcare throughout the country, this promise was, quite predictably, warmly received. At the same time, discussions about a national childcare policy raised important questions about ensuring the universality of accessible, quality care for children. Such issues have yet to be seriously deliberated in the academic, public and political discussions regarding the development of national childcare. This paper seeks to address questions about the effectiveness of federal involvement in early child education and care through the analysis of two other legislative initiatives created to support families with young children: the federal parental leave benefit policy established through the Employment Insurance Act, and Québec’s universal childcare program. An examination of these two initiatives reveals that each is premised on specific assumptions about "the family" and its social, cultural and economic dynamics. Yet these assumptions fail to reflect the realities of many families and, where this occurs, parents and their children are often denied state-supported benefits. Clearly, the design of a national childcare policy should seek to avoid such marginalization of families. This paper thus maintains that the assumptions underpinning Canada’s parental leave policy and Québec's daycare initiative cannot serve as the premise for a national childcare program that might ultimately be created. Instead, this essay offers a new way of envisioning family relationships and responsibilities, work, and childcare, with a view to promoting the development of an equitable and inclusive Canadian childcare policy.
Allan Falconer Memorial Student Essay Contest Winner
- The Roles of Registered Partnerships and Conjugality in Canadian Family Law - Caroline A. Thomas
Much of the discussion on marital rights and obligations focuses on the importance of the decision to marry rather than to cohabit. Greater legal protection is extended to those who choose to marry; thus, those who desire greater legal protection will get married, whereas those who do not will cohabit. This assumption is problematic, in that many couples wish to marry but cannot for financial reasons. Others may not wish to marry due to personally held beliefs, but do wish to take on the enhanced legal rights. In addition, many people cohabit in non-conjugal relationships characterized by stability, mutual support, and financial interdependence (e.g., adult children living with elderly parents). Many of these relationships are denied privileges they should be entitled to, such as protection upon intestacy and survivor benefits. The author argues for the implementation of a registered partnerships scheme, extending protection to both conjugal and non-conjugal cohabitants. This paper outlines the judicial treatment of marriage and cohabitation, including evidence regarding external pressures leading individuals to cohabit rather than to marry. The limited importance of conjugality is discussed, with an examination of current legal alternatives to marriage, such as domestic contracts. Existing registration systems in Europe, the United States and Canada are examined. Finally, the advantages of implementing such a scheme across Canada are advanced as a valuable alternative to marriage.
Book Review
- Elissa Da Costa, Everything You Wanted to Know About Practising Family Law (Great Britain: Cavendish Publishing Ltd., 2004). - Michel Tétrault