WHEREAS the federal Divorce Act, as amended in 2021, includes obligations to promote the best interests of children, consider family violence, and encourage non-adversarial family dispute resolution;

WHEREAS contemporary best practice in family law emphasize non-adversarial resolution processes informed by social science research, legislative changes, and obligations to protect the best interests of children and mitigate the harmful impacts of inter-parental legal conflicts;

WHEREAS separation and divorce may be an “Adverse Childhood Experience” (ACE), and social science research highlights the harmful impacts of inter-parental legal conflicts on children;

WHEREAS the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), ratified by Canada in 1991, obligates parties to protect and promote children’s best interests and participatory rights in legal matters;

WHEREAS the Federation of Law Societies established the Model Code of Professional Conduct to harmonize ethical standards across Canadian jurisdictions;

WHEREAS the CBA proposed in 2021 to amend the Model Code to add commentary in Rule 5.1 on non-adversarial proceedings and introduce a new Rule 2.2 on standards of practice for family lawyers;

WHEREAS the Federation of Law Societies is currently reviewing the Model Code and consulting on amendments in response to TRC Call to Action 27 but has not yet responded to the CBA proposals on non-adversarial proceedings and standards of practice for family lawyers;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Canadian Bar Association engage the Federation of Law Societies of Canada on:

1. Amending Model Code Rule 5.1-1 with new commentary clarifying the role of lawyers in Non-Adversarial proceedings; and
2. Amending the Model Code to include "Standards of Practice for Family lawyers".

Moved by Family Law Section

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