Volume 27, Number 1, 2011
Articles
- Mothers Wishing to Relocate with Children: Actual and Perceived Reasons - Patrick Parkinson, Judy Cashmore, and Judi Single
Thirty-eight mothers in Australia who wanted to move with their children were interviewed about their reasons for wanting to relocate. Forty men, all of whom opposed the mother's move, were also interviewed about what they perceived the mother's reasons were. There were nine former couples in the study. Most women had more than one reason for wanting to relocate, and there were quite often disparate reasons. Women's reasons mainly focused on relationships with family or potential new partners. Conversely, men were more likely to perceive the real reasons as being related to financial issues, jobs, and lifestyle. The article explores the possible explanations for these gender differences, including poor communication between the parents, strategic explanations of reasons in the context of litigation, and differences between what women say and what men hear. In the light of this evidence, the article considers the role of the court in examining the ostensible reasons for relocation.
- "Putting the Child First": A Necessary Step in the Recognition of the Right to Identity - Michelle Giroux and Mariana De Lorenzi
In recent years, the number of nations which have banned the anonymous character of gamete donations has increased, including nations that once strongly supported such a position. This shift in national legislative policy worldwide has aided a growing recognition of the right to know one's origins in international law and gives a wider effect to this fundamental right. In Canada, while there has been discussion about the importance of the right to know one's biological origins, this right has not been universally guaranteed through legislation, either to adoptees or to the donor-conceived. This article refers mostly to Québec legislation, but combines analyses of Québec civil law and common law with continental European legal developments, which can assist legislative reform across the country. The authors are defending the existence of a fundamental right of the child to know his or her biological origins as part of the right to identity protected by the UN Convention on the Rights of the ChildCRC") and are therefore focusing on the perspective of the child. Pursuant to the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Renvoi, which partially invalidated the federal legislation that regulated assisted human reproduction, this article takes a position in favour of provincial and territorial law reform that would explicitly recognize the right of the child to know his or her biological origins and ban anonymity in the context of gamete donation.
Case Comments
- Introduction to Schreyer v Schreyer
- Out in the Cold: Schreyer v Schreyer's Call for Law Reform - Susan Boyd and Janis Sarra
- Schreyer v Schreyer: Should British Columbia Care - Mark R. Slay