Canada: Equal shared parenting - best for parents, best for children

Editorial in National Post today (Equal Parenting Bill C560 is being debated for Second Reading today March 25 in Parliament). Excerpt:

'In recent days, the National Post has brought forward two sides of the current debate on Bill C-560, An Act to amend the Divorce Act (equal parenting), set for second reading in the House of Commons today.

Although the two articles, by Barbara Kay (“After a divorce, equal parenting rights should be the norm,” March 19) and Tasha Kheiriddin (“Equal shared parenting laws don’t put kids first,” March 20) appear at first glance to present diametrically opposed positions, each expresses valid concerns in regard to the importance of maintaining parent-child relationships, ensuring continuity and stability in children’s lives, and containing parental conflict. The question is whether any one legal formula can be crafted to take on board all of these concerns.

The problem with Canada’s current “best interests of the child” approach, as codified in the Divorce Act, is that it relies on a discretionary method of determining children’s interests, in which judges have unfettered latitude in an area of child development and family dynamics in which they have little or no expertise. Thus, their subjective judgments about children’s needs and interests are variable, inconsistent and unpredictable.
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Shared parenting is, not surprisingly, also the stated preference of parents and children themselves. Research from jurisdictions that have implemented a shared parenting presumption, including Sweden, Belgium and Australia, are highly encouraging.

The current adversarial system in family law is unsustainable. It is our responsibility to set aside polarized positions and work collaboratively toward supporting children and families during difficult times of family transition.'