NO RELIGIOUS ARBITRATION

April 11, 2007

April 5, 2007
Alia Hogben of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women thanks all participants involved in the fight to remove religious arbitration from family law, and especially the fight to get Bill 27 written, passed and proclaimed.

April 5, 2007
The Family Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006, which amends the Arbitration Act, 1991 and the Family Law Act, has been proclaimed in force as of April 30, 2007. The new regulation under the Arbitration Act, 1991, will come into force on the same day.

The provisions of the regulation about the content of family arbitration agreements come into force on September 1, 2007.

The provisions of the regulation about the training required of family arbitrators come into force on April 30, 2008.

The new regulations can be found in the Government of Ontario’s in e-Laws' Consolidated Statutes and Regulations page: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/tocBrowseCL_E.asp?lang=en under Arbitration Act, 1991 - click on the + sign beside the name of the Act to show the regulation.

April 4, 2007
From the ONTARIO GAZETTE, April 4, 2007

FAMILY STATUTE LAW AMENDMENT ACT, 2006
We, by and with the advice of the Executive Council of Ontario, name April 30, 2007 as the day on which the following provisions of the Family Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006, c. 1, come into force:
1. Section 1, which amends the Arbitration Act, 1991.
2. Section 4, which amends the Courts of Justice Act.
3. Section 5, which amends the Family Law Act.

WITNESS:
THE HONOURABLE JAMES K. BARTLEMAN
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF OUR PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
GIVEN at Toronto, Ontario, on March 28, 2007.

Mar. 20, 2007
Ontario Council President Linda MacGregor sends a letter to Premier McGuinty concerning sections 1,4 and 5 of Bill 27 (the bill that abolishes religious arbitration in family law) which have yet to be proclaimed.

March 15, 2007
ACTION ALERT

To: CFUW Ontario Council Club Presidents
Re: Proclamation of Sections 1, 4 and 5 of The Family Statute Law Amendment Act (Bill 27)

About 3 weeks ago, I asked your Club to write or visit your local MPP(s) when it became known, through an article in The Toronto Sun, that parts of The Family Statute Law Amendment Act (Bill 27) had not been proclaimed.

Some Clubs sent a message back saying that their MPP had informed them that the Bill had been passed and received Royal Assent on February of 2006. They were perfectly correct for sections 2, 3 and 6 of the Act, BUT sections 1, 4 and 5, which are of most concern to women, have not yet been proclaimed.

It is our understanding that regulations are being developed for these remaining sections, and that this is the reason for the delay in proclaiming them and bringing the entire Act into force.

We ask you to urge your MPP(s) to ask for the regulations to be completed as soon as possible. You might also request that he/she speak up during Question Period and ask what the delay is in passing the regulations for these 3 sections.

We have prepared a letter that we encourage you to use either as a template for a letter from your club or as information you can read and take with you when visiting your MPP(s) on this matter.

Thank you,
Linda MacGregor

February 19th, 2007
ACTION ALERT
Members of CFUW Ontario Council,
Bill 27, which forbids religious arbitration in Ontario family law, passed on Feb. 14, 2006, has still not been proclaimed. Why? The Regulations that support this Bill need to be completed so that it can be enacted. Premier McGuinty could prorogue (dissolve) government at any time and, if not passed by then, the Bill will die.

Will Club Presidents, or their designate advocacy member, phone their MPP and ask them why there is this delay in getting the Regulations completed. Push for this Bill to be proclaimed

If we cannot apply pressure on our elected officials to act, many women,particularly those from vulnerable and marginalized communities will suffer.

Read the article from the Toronto Sun and take action.

Let's Do It !
Linda MacGregor

From Sept. 2006, Dates & Data

Women and Religious Arbitration in Family Law – a follow up:

It has been just a year since the Ontario Government listened to the will of its citizens, in particular women’s groups, and saw its way to ban binding (religious) arbitration in family law matters. The existing 1991 Arbitration Act law seriously disadvantaged women in family law matters, and if extended to include further religious tribunals had the potential to create serious inequality for a greater number of vulnerable women before the law.  CFUW Clubs in Ontario and CFUW/ Ontario Council as part of the No Religious Arbitration Coalition had worked hard to bring about that change.

The necessary amendments to the existing 1991 Arbitration Act and to related legislation was put through the Ontario Legislature and the resulting Family Statute Law Amendment Act 2005 received Royal Assent last spring.

In its own policy on the matter, CFUW recognized that legislation alone would not be enough to empower and give equal access to the law. CFUW therefore urged “the Government of Canada and all provincial and territorial governments of Canada to ensure that all residents of Canada are made cognizant of their rights and responsibilities under family law legislation and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”.

The Ontario Government indeed has made available funds for a women’s family law education and outreach project. CFUW/ Ontario Council represented by Joan Dunn and Teri Shaw, has been attending consultations initiated by the Ontario Women’s Directorate. 

Several women’s groups who have been instrumental in the no religious arbitration battle have formed a consortium to tackle the complex task of developing legal education resources that are legally correct in plain language, culturally and linguistically appropriate  and in a format and location where vulnerable women can easily access them. CFUW/Ontario Council is part of that consortium along with groups such as the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, YWCA Toronto, METRAC, NAWL, CLEO, that have expertise and proven track record in large scale public legal education and legal services in the area of violence against women and family law as well as in the efficient administration of large budgets. The consortium has proposed a plan of action to the government. 

We shall keep Clubs posted on the progress of this project and on the role Clubs and CFUW/Ontario Council will be able to take on in it.

- Edeltraud Neal

May 12th, 2006 

CFUW/Ontario Council joins the Public Legal Education and Community Outreach Project, with other members of the No Religious Arbitration Coalition, which will develop legal education resources with reference to family law. 

Members can go to www.ywcatoronto.ca/advocate_change/arbitration_intro.htm for more information about this.

February 23,2006

The Family Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005 incorporating changes to the Arbitration Act 1991, has received Royal Assent.

Feb. 3, 2006

From the Pre-Budget Brief:

The Arbitration Act and the Family Statute Law Amendment Act:

CFUW/Ontario Council believes that all who live in Ontario, regardless of their culture, language, or faith, should have equal access to the resolution of family disputes within the parameters and protections of the Family Law Act. No group, or member within that group, should be disadvantaged by lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities under Canadian law

CFUW/Ontario Council is a member of the No Religious Arbitration Coalition that has been actively opposing the concept of religious arbitration in family law.

We commend the Government’s decision to end all religious arbitration in family law disputes.

We note however, that Bill 57 does not provide for legal aid, which is essential if quality advice is to be received. CFUW/Ontario Council is very concerned that economically vulnerable women will not have the funds to pursue that legal advice.  The lack of legal aid for family law means that many women do not have equitable access to justice.

We are pleased that, in concert with Bill 27, Community Outreach and Education Programs are being developed by the Ontario Women’s Directorate and the Ministry of Community and Social Services to increase legal literacy and make all Ontarians understand their rights under Canadian and Ontario family law and family law arbitrations.

December 14, 2005

Comments are submitted by CFUW/Ontario Council on the Proposed Bill 27, The Family Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005 to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy. This Bill includes the amendments to the Arbitration Act 1991 that we, as part of the No Religious Arbitration Committee, have been arguing for.

September 13, 2005

A Press Release is sent by CFUW/Ontario Council commending the decision of Premier Dalton McGuinty and his government not to allow religious arbitration in the dispute resolution of family law matters.

September 2005

We continue to express our concerns very strongly about potential changes to the Arbitration Act.
At the National AGM held August, 2005 in Oakville, a resolution was passed calling for “Equality in Family Law”. Our policy urges the government to exclude Family Law disputes from arbitration legislation. Our policy is very broad and directed against all arbitration tribunals for Family Law.
In the spirit of the 2004 IFUW resolution on "Religion, Culture, Gender Equality and Women's Rights" which is also CFUW policy, we are urged to be respectful towards each person's religious belief.
CFUW and CFUW/Ontario Council are part of an alliance of Canadian and provincial groups bound together by a carefully crafted declaration.
Declaration and its signatories.
- Under "More" you can also find the criteria for the participating organisations and the terms of reference. Look who our partners are in fighting this.
CFUW/Ontario Council will continue to work hard to eliminate a law that does not respect the equality of women and makes it possible for women to be judged by private (religious) tribunals. We are in this for the long run.

Summer 2005

Ontario CFUW members, family and friends voice their opinion re: family law matters in the Arbitration Act to their MPPs.

May 31, 2005

CFUW/Ontario Council together with the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL), Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) and the Toronto YWCA meet with the Liberal Women's Caucus of the Ontario Legislature concerning Marion Boyd’s Arbitration Act Review.

Mar. 31, 2005

CFUW/Ontario Council is concerned about the Boyd Review. See a copy of our brief.

Jan. 15, 2005

At the January Standing Committee, Hon. Marion Boyd, Chair of the Arbitration Act Review Committee, Nuzhat Jafri of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and Annie Bunting, Professor in the Law and Society Program at York University gave their views on the proposed revisions to Ontario’s Arbitration Act.
Full Report on the panel discussion

External links:

YWCA Toronto’s page on Arbitration
www.ywcatoronto.ca/advocate_change/arbitration_intro.htm

Hon. Marion Boyd’s report, Dispute Resolution in Family Law: Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusionwww.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/boyd