Parents and children would be much better served if family law were entirely under provincial responsibility. Given that the large majority of custody and access cases are settled by mutual agreement, we would express serious reservations regarding the need to legislate controls on all cases. The fundamental rights of all individuals must be protected, and specifically their right to privacy. We recognize the principle of the best interests of the child. This means that a child must not be the victim of conflicts between his or her parents, and the child's interests must not be confused with those of the child's parents or extended family.
Family violence exists, and the danger to victims of family violence is exacerbated in a separation.
The safety of children and their parents must therefore be protected. The large majority of studies and statistics show that women are most often the victims of family violence. The responsibility for resolving disputed cases lies with the courts. We do not consider the use of sanctions and coercion, and making parental obligations excessively rigid, to be helpful approaches in a process which, even under the best circumstances, is always a difficult one. Although a number of witnesses talked about cases in which there had been false accusations of abuse, it must be recalled that the Criminal Code already contains provisions against perjury.