Submitted by CBABC Sections
Summary of Meetings
Number of Meetings Held: 8
September 28, 2016
Guest Speaker: N/A
Meeting Title/Topic: Input Into Family Law Act Changes
Synopsis: The Family Law Act has been in force for 3 years. We have seen and experienced it's impact on our practice during this time. The Provincial Government was considering changes relating to guardianship and the presumption of advancement under the Family Law Act. We had an opportunity to provide feedback about the changes until September 30, 2016. The meeting was an opportunity to for discussion and to provide feedback to the regarding contemplated changes to guardianship and the presumption of advancement under the Family Law Act.
November 29, 2016
Guest Speaker: Derek LaCroix of the Lawyers Assistance Program
Meeting Title/Topic: Boundaries for Family Lawyers
Synopsis: Sandwich/salad lunch and beverages were provided.
December 8, 2016
Guest Speaker: N/A
Meeting Title/Topic: Holiday Cheer - Family Law Section Party Potluck
Synopsis: Section members were encouraged to join their section and court staff for some holiday cheer. They were invited to pop by after a day of work to commiserate on their way home.
January 23, 2017
Guest Speaker: Kevin Dorsey - Our Family Wizard
Meeting Title/Topic: Family Calendars - Our Family Wizard Presentation
Synopsis: Kevin Dorsey provided a presentation of the software Our Family Wizard, which is an online tool for parents to use to communicate, share event details and calendar, manage finances, etc. Retired Judge Harvey attended this presentation last summer and recommended that our local family lawyers have this presentation as well.
February 15, 2017
Guest Speakers: Kari Erickson - Manager of Registry Operations At The Victoria Courthouse, Steve Fudge - Crown Counsel, Laura Atkinson - Family Law Lawyer, and Michael Magone - Registry Technician
Meeting Title/Topic: Protection Orders - Navigating The Intersection Between Criminal And Family Law
Synopsis: This meeting provided practical tips to assist counsel and their clients to navigate the challenges (and optimistically the benefits) from the overlap of criminal law and family law processes. Including the process of obtaining protections orders, the protection order registry, service and enforcement of protection orders. Kari Erickson, manager of the registry operations at the Victoria Courthouse, spoke about the Protection Order Registry (what it is and how it works), requesting for registry assistance to serve FLA protection orders. Steve Fudge, Crown Counsel, spoke about enforcement of orders and what family counsel should do if they beleive there is a breach, and Laura Atkinson, family law lawyer, discussed practical considerations in obtaining protection orders in terms of drafting, setting aside protection orders and whether "to do or not to do" without notice applications.
February 23, 2017
Guest Speaker: Joanne Platt - Family Maintenance Enforcement Program
Meeting Title/Topic: Making Enforceable Support Orders and Agreements
Synopsis: Joanne Platt and FMEP presented on how to properly word agreements and orders to ensure that they are consistent with FMEP policy and FMEP's ability to enforce the agreement or order.
March 7, 2017
Guest Speakers: The Honourable Madam Justice Andrea Moen - The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta, The Honourable Mr. Justice Robert T.C. Johnston - Supreme Court of British Columbia, Jane Taylor Lee - Child Specialist & Divorce Coach, Karina Sacca - Sacca Law Group - Family Law Lawyer and Mediator, and Rebecca Faber - Duncan & Faber - Family Law Lawyer
Meeting Title/Topic: Panel Discussion on Alienation
Synopsis: Alienation in the family law context is a term which relates to the breakdown of a child’s relationship with his or her parent for no apparent reason. It differs from estrangement where a child may have grown apart from a parent for reasons that are reasonable. Alienation can occur as a result of one parent’s efforts to destroy the child’s relationship with the other parent and has profound effects on both the child and the alienated parent. The Victoria Family Law Section was very pleased to present this panel discussion about alienation from several perspectives. The panel discussed how children may react in cases of alienation, what we as counsel can look for, case examples of alienation, how we can help and how we can reduce harm.
June 29, 2017
Guest Speaker: Suzanne Williams, Brown Henderson Melbye
Meeting Title/Topic: Discussion on the CBA Child Rights Toolkit & AGM
Synopsis: The Family Law - Victoria Section hosted their AGM, and heard Suzanne Williams introduce and lead a discussion on the CBA Child Rights Toolkit, which helped to ensure that participants can better understand and implement a child rights based approach into their practice.
Comments and Observations of the Chair
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