WHEREAS the 1998 Report of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access made 48 recommendations addressing problems in the family law;
AND WHEREAS central to the new direction was the concept of “shared parenting”, when the parents have divorced;
AND WHEREAS after a three-year delay, many of the recommendations of the Committee are being ignored by the Minister;
AND WHEREAS society has an interest in using the tools of public policy to discourage divorce, but if a divorce occurs, to encourage shared parenting of the children from that union;
BE IT RESOLVED that REAL Women lobby the federal government and the Official Opposition to support the implementation of the 48 recommendations of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access, especially the resolution in support of joint custody and access for divorced parents.