Today the House of Commons voted 174-80 against MP Maurice Vellacott’s Equal Parenting motion. The Conservative Party cabinet was whipped to join the NDP and Liberals and vote against it. We interviewed Mr. Vellacott about his motion on Lighthouse News and you can listen to there here.
Vellacott was not deterred by the defeat, calling it a “milestone in the efforts by Canadians from across the country to secure the best interests of children.” He added “the need for equal shared parenting is on the social and political radar like it has never been before due to Bill C-560 and the grassroots work of so many men and women from every Party across this country, educating their Members of Parliament on the best interests of the children of divorce. The timing is perfect with the avalanche of social science research these days demonstrating the need for the continued active involvement of both their fit parents in the lives of children.”
Although the Cabinet was whipped to oppose the motion (was this out of spite against Vellacott’s outspoken pro-family and pro-life perspective?) there was a ray of hope. Vellacott noted that during debate the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, Bob Dechert, promised Canadians that the government would “review the custody and access provisions of the Divorce Act and, in so doing, will consider how it can further encourage parents to rely less on adversarial processes and focus on the needs of their children.”
Take Action: Send a email to your MP, Mr. Vellacott, and the Justice Minister in support of equal parenting using ARPA’s EasyMail. Click here – it just takes 5-10 minutes.
Also, a petition in support of C-560 is attached. Please print it and collect at least 25 signatures and then bring it to your MP.
OTTAWA – MP Maurice Vellacott gave the following statement in the House of Commons on January 31st, announcing which initiative he was bringing forward for debate in Parliament this spring:
Mr. Speaker, I have had a difficult decision to make. I have 4 items on the Order Paper, and all of them are of great importance. One is a democratic reform initiative, and two are explicitly pro-life measures. One bill I have on the order paper is for the sake of the children. They all deserve to proceed in this place, but regrettably I can only choose one at this time.
I have selected Bill C-560 to move forward to 2nd reading debate in this Chamber. It is my bill to amend the Divorce Act to make equal shared parenting a rebuttable presumption in cases of marital breakup involving children.
Aside from proven abuse or neglect, over three quarters of Canadians want equal shared parenting to be the presumption in our courts when marriages unfortunately break down. Research clearly demonstrates that equal shared parenting is in the best interests of children.
Member of Parliament Mr. Maurice Vellacott’s new Private Member’s Bill on equal shared parenting proposes important amendments to Canada’s Divorce Act. The bill, to be tabled this fall, will instruct judges to apply the principle of equal shared parenting unless it is established that the best interests of the child would be substantially enhanced by allocating parental responsibility differently. The suggested amendments follow the recommendations of a joint House-Senate committee report entitled “For the Sake of the Children.”
Mr. Vellacott believes, and studies show, that it is in the best interest of children when both parents are actively involved in their lives. Currently, approximately 90% of divorce and custody cases end up with a sole custody arrangement. Divorces are difficult to go through and are often devastating for everyone involved, especially the children. Vellacott’s proposed changes are preventative measures intended to help reach better agreements between moms and dads and to avoid long custody battles. Mr. Vellacott would like to move away from a “custody” model to one of “parenting time.”