The Bill C-78 Divorce Act Changes: What you need to know

Substantial changes to the Divorce Act come into force on March 1, 2021. Experts from the Family and Children’s Law Team, Department of Justice Canada, are offering free virtual training to provide you with an overview of the amendments.
This course will be helpful to those who need an introduction to the amendments and to those who need a refresher on the eve of implementation.
It is likely to be of interest to lawyers, courts and dispute resolution practitioners, as well as other family justice professionals.
The course will cover the following:
- Status of Act, objectives
- Language of parenting, parenting orders
- Best interests, family violence
- Relocation: process, substantive law
- New duties: courts, parents, lawyers
- Jurisdiction for parenting orders
- Official Languages amendments
- Inter-jurisdictional support
- FOAEA Act changes
- Regulations, consequential changes, etc.
Courses Dates and Times:
- February 22, 2021 – 11 am to 2 pm (English)
- February 23, 2021 – 12 pm to 3 pm (English)
- February 24, 2021 – 9 am to 12 pm (French)
- February 24, 2021 – 1 pm to 4 pm (English)
- February 25, 2021 – 11 am to 2 pm (English)
- February 26, 2021 – 9 am to 12 pm (French)
- February 26, 2021 – 12 pm to 3 pm (English)
*New - Please note that if courses fill up, additional offerings will be added
- Monday, March 1st, 2021 – 12pm to 3pm EST (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/140379208993
- Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021 – 1pm to 4pm EST (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/141359934369
- Thursday, March 4th, 2021 – 12pm to 3pm EST (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/140385098609
- Friday, March 5th, 2021 – 12pm to 3pm EST (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/140389315221
- Monday, March 8th, 2021 – 1pm to 4pm EST (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/141360610391
- Wednesday, March 10th, 2021 – 9am to 12pm EST (French): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/141361677583
For Department of Justice employees: A limited number of seats will be reserved for Department of Justice employees in each session.
You must also register through People Soft using course code: 017757Accreditation by Law Societies:
- Barreau du Quebec
- This activity may be eligible for up to 3 hours of continuing education content (but ultimately it is the lawyer’s responsibility to determine whether it fits the BQ’s regulation concerning mandatory continuing education activities)
- Law Society of British Columbia
- The Department of Justice Canada (Legal Practices Policy Division - LPPD) is a pre-approved provider; this activity counts for up to 3 hours
- Law Society of New Brunswick
- This activity is accredited for 3 MCPD hours
- Law Society of Ontario
- This activity is eligible for up to 3 hours of Substantive content (but ultimately it is the lawyer’s responsibility to determine whether the activity qualifies under the LSO’s CPD Requirement regarding the Substantive content)
- Law Society of Saskatchewan
- This activity is accredited for 3 CPD hours
** Please also note that the Department of Justice Canada is offering online courses related to Bill C-78. You can find the first one Introduction to Federal Family Law Amendments at: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/cfl-mdf/trai-form/index.html
For more information please contact fclpu-updfe@justice.gc.ca.
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