Legislation

Canada

Divorce Act

The federal law governing marriage breakdown in Canada.

Federal Child Support Guidelines

The regulations under the Divorce Act that help parents set child support amounts.

Federal Child Support Guidelines: A List of Selected Case Law and Summaries

This site provides a list of some reported and unreported cases along with selected summaries dealing with the Federal Child Support Guidelines. The cases and summaries appear below the relevant section of the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

Provincial child support laws

Applies if parents are not married to each other, are married but separated and have decided not to divorce, or both are living in New Brunswick, Manitoba or Quebec.

Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (FOEA)

An Act to provide for the release of information that may assist in locating persons in default and other persons and to permit, for the enforcement of support orders and support provisions, the garnishment and attachment of certain moneys payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada

Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act

The Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act allows for the diversion of pensions to satisfy support, alimony or maintenance orders. The GAPDA allows for the diversion of federal pension benefits to satisfy Canadian Court Orders for family support payments.

International Conventions

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted by the United Nations in 1989, is an internationally recognized agreement between nations which spells out the basic human rights to which children everywhere are entitled: the right to survival; the right to the development of their full physical and mental potential; the right to protection from influences that are harmful to their development; and the right to participation in family, cultural and social life.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 25 October 1980 is a multilateral treaty, which seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return.

Legislative Comparisons

Canadian Custody and Access Provisions: A Legislative Comparison

This document offers a summary of Canadian legislation pertaining to custody and access. (March 1998)

Child Custody and Access in Foreign Jurisdictions: A Legislative Comparison

This report provides a comparison of child custody and access legislation in the United Kingdom, Florida, Indiana, Washington, Minnesota, California, Australia, and New Zealand. These eight common law, English speaking jurisdictions were chosen to provide a representative sample of different kinds of legislative approaches and to reflect the major recent developments respecting child custody and access issues. (March 1998)