H. Artificial Insemination

• Author: Julien D. Payne - Marilyn A. Payne
• Pages: 393-394

Page 393

Sections 48, 53, 85, and 86 of the Alberta Family Law Act¹⁰⁴provide qualified recognition to parental agreements but such agreements cannot oust the supervisory jurisdiction of the court to grant child support orders, guardianship orders and parenting orders to protect the needs and best interests of children. The rights to liberty and security that are guaran-

Page 394

teed by section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms have received a large and liberal interpretation, but they do not extend to guarantee freedom of contract. Furthermore, section 7 can only be triggered where there is a breach of principles for fundamental justice. Accordingly, sections 53, 85, and 86 of the Family Law Act are not constitutionally deficient because they do not guarantee private ordering, even on matters as potentially personal as parenting. In applying these principles to the facts in Doe v. Alberta, Martin J. concluded that the applicants could not enter into a binding and determinative agreement whereby the male partner would have no parental rights or responsibilities and no child support obligation towards his unmarried cohabitant’s child born as a result of her...