Liberal MP proposes sweeping changes to Divorce Act

A Liberal MP is pushing for changes to the Divorce Act to give children a say in divorce proceedings and limit the effects of coercive control and domestic violence.

Lisa Hepfner, MP for Hamilton Mountain, said she proposed the legislation after hearing horrifying stories from Suzanne Zaccour, director of legal affairs at the National Association of Women and the Law.

"(She) approached me with all these victims. I used to be a journalist … So when I hear those stories (now), I don't have to just share them. I can actually do something about it," Hepfner said Wednesday in front of the House of Commons.

The legislation is expected to face a vote in the House of Commons next week.

It would impose new requirements on lawyers to screen for signs of family violence during divorce cases, give judges new tools to identify the existence and impact of coercive control on children, and ensure that, in some circumstances, children can express their preferences to a judge in a custody dispute.

Coercive control is a pattern of abusive behaviour in which one individual attempts to control another through measures like limiting their interactions with friends and family, spying on their communications, depriving them of basic needs and humiliating, degrading or dehumanizing them.

Zaccour, speaking alongside Hepfner on Wednesday, recounted stories she heard from women who told the courts their partner was abusing them or their children during divorce proceedings.

"They left the abuser, they disclosed his violence, and then they got punished for being labelled 'difficult,' 'vindictive' and 'alienator,'" she said.

"And years later, tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees later, they hear the message loud and clear — there is nothing you can do to keep your child safe.

"For survivors, the violence does not end with separation. It follows them into the courtroom."

The National Association of Women and the Law, which supports Hepfner's bill, said it has been joined by nearly 300 organizations across the country calling for changes to the Divorce Act to ensure the best interests of children are respected.

Hepfner said she has received support for the legislation from Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NDP MP Leah Gazan, along with members of her own caucus.

Kaitlin Geiger-Bardswich, director of communications and advocacy for Women's Shelters Canada, said the legislation will have "life-saving implications" for children and families fleeing family violence and post-separation abuse.

"We've seen courts order children to live with an abusive father and prevent them from having any contact with their mother, even when the father's violence is well documented," Geiger-Bardswich said. "This bill is essential to ensure that safety and well-being, not outdated myths, guide family court decisions."

Ismena Toscan is one of those children the law proposed by Hepfner is meant to protect.

Toscan, 15, said she was sexually abused by her father since she was four years old. Hepfner said her father was able to continue being in her life because he claimed parental alienation.

Toscan said children rarely disclose abuse right after it happens — often because they lack the proper language to describe their experiences.

"I cannot change what happened to me, but I can — and I will — use my voice to prevent others from experiencing the same," she said.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld