FAMILY LAW FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN (FLEW)

     From 1991 until 2006 under the Arbitration Act, Ontario permitted tribunals of certain religious denominations to decide major family issues such as divorce and custody with the force of law.  This authority, applying to Islamic Sharia law in particular, became the subject of widespread public controversy, resulting in the province  amending the Act and the Family Law Act 2006 to terminate the authority of such tribunals’ decisions in the courts.

            At the time, many people knew little about family law, impeded by language barriers , poverty, the force of cultural practices, or distance from sources of legal aid. To correct this lack of knowledge, Ontario’s Women’s Directorate undertook the project of formulating family law for the first time in a lay person’s language.  CFUW participated in the process and our Issues group, concentrating on Mississauga, was one of a number of CFUW clubs who distributed the new publication, a collection of twelve topics in separate booklets, to community groups across the province.  In 2010 there were minor revisions to the booklets.  METRAC is now administering the program which can be accessed through www.onefamilylaw.ca.  We are continuing our interest in this important resource.

Charlotte Harnden
Issues Group