A Brief Overview of Bill C-78, An Act to Amend the Divorce Act and Related Legislation

The bill would give the convention the force of law in Canada under section 28.1(1), and the convention would prevail in the event of any inconsistencies between it and any federal legislation under subsection (2). [...] Payors residing in a signatory state may seek: a) an order varying a support order, under section 29.1(2)(a); b) the calculation or recalculation of child support, if a child support service exists in the payee’s province of habitual residence, under section 29.1(2)(b); and, c) the recognition of a foreign order that has the effect of suspending or limiting the enforcement of domestic child suppor [...] Payors may also apply directly to the courts of the payee’s province of habitual residence for the recognition and enforcement of foreign orders that have the effect of suspending or limiting the enforcement of a domestic child support order under section 29.4. [...] The bill would give the convention the force of law in Canada under section 30.1(1), subject to certain provincial limitations expressed at section 30.3, and the convention would prevail in the event of any inconsistencies between it and any federal legislation under subsection (2). [...] Under section 31.1, a “measure” taken by a signatory state that has the effect of varying a domestic parenting order or a contact order is deemed to be a variation order under section 17 of the act, subject to the discretion of the court on application under section 31.2(1), and may be enforced as a domestic order under s. 31.3.