Family Law

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Resources, Articles, & Advocacy

Advocacy | July 07, 2025

Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 30

New Regional Senior Justice Appointed to the OCJ: Justice Anthony Frederick Leitch has been appointed regional senior justice for the Central West Region of the Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ), effective September 1. He had been the acting senior judge in the region since 2023.

Superior Court of Justice | July 07, 2025

Ministry of the Attorney General - Questionnaire on Bail Supervision

The Ministry of the Attorney General is requesting input on a questionnaire to support a sub-committee of the Steering Committee on Justice Efficiencies and Access to Criminal Justice, which will consult broadly on bail supervision in Canada.

Superior Court of Justice | July 07, 2025

Notice to the Profession - CWR - Standard Document Naming Protocol (Family and Civil)

Effective June 30, 2025, in the Central West Region for Family Cases: all properly filed Family Responsibility Office materials at the Superior Court of Justice must be uploaded to Case Center, and Court Services will be uploading documents on behalf of self-represented litigants for documents served and filed on or after that date.

Article | June 24, 2025

Imputing Income Part III: Failure to Provide Income Disclosure

Whether the obligation comes from the legislation or a Court Order, a support payor is obligated to produce financial disclosure. This was succinctly reiterated in Neves v Pinto: Not only was Ms. Pinto statutorily obligated to produce complete financial disclosure, there were court orders that specifically required her to do so. Parties are not free to disregard court orders. Court orders are to be obeyed. Non-compliance with court orders must have consequences (Neves v Pinto 2020 ONSC 3098).

Article | June 24, 2025

Navigating Grandparent Contact

In Ontario, although grandparents do not have an automatic legal right to have contact with their grandchildren, they do have the right to make an application for contact. As Danielle Sawh outlines, the factors that a Court will consider in determining whether, and to what extent, to grant an order for contact between grandparents and grandchildren arise from both the legislation and the case law.

Article | June 24, 2025

Foreign Expertise, Local Impact: The Quiet Necessity of Foreign Legal Consultants

Where legal practice intersects with immigration, international families, and global financial matters, foreign law is not a complication; it is the context. Canadian courts have always operated with the understanding that foreign law, when relevant, must be treated as a question of fact. But as our legal and social realities evolve, so too does the need for clarity, structure, and cultural literacy when presenting those facts. This is where Certified Foreign Legal Consultants (FLCs) become indispensable.

Advocacy | June 11, 2025

Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 9

Legislative Update | June 06, 2025

Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of June 2

Ford Government Passes Mining Legislation: Bill 5, or the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, passed third reading this week and has been granted royal assent by the lieutenant governor. The legislation will create so-called special economic zones where laws, ranging from municipal approvals to environmental rules or even labour law, won’t apply. At Queen’s Park on Wednesday, cries of protest rang out from the galleries inside the legislature as MPPs voted. Indigenous leaders have vowed to keep fighting against the legislation.