BCLI has been at work for a little over a year on a project to reform the law of parentage. The project’s focus is part 3 of the Family Law Act. This legislation provides an answer to the question of who is legally a child’s parent. It is meant to be comprehensive, covering children conceived by sexual intercourse or assisted human reproduction.

Part 3 came into force in March 2013. Since that time, there have been developments in medicine and society that may call for reforms to part 3.

BCLI has formed an expert project committee, made up of a wide range of professionals. The project committee has been meeting regularly throughout 2021. It began with a big-picture overview of legal and social trends affecting parentage law. Lately, its meetings focus on discrete legal issues for reform of part 3 of the Family Law Act.

The committee has been reviewing court orders declaring parentage. It has plans to move on to parentage agreements, surrogacy, and other substantive provisions of part 3. The goal is to develop proposals for a public consultation next year. In the meantime, you can follow the committee’s progress at bcli.org.