Preface

• Author: Julien D. Payne/Marilyn A. Payne
• Pages: 21-23

PREFACE

Familylawisachanginganddynamicf‌ield. Inthetwenty-f‌irstcentury,

Canadian families will encounter new challenges. Marriage and the fam-

ily are no longer sy nonymous. e traditiona l nuclear family of t he s,

withitsbreadwinninghusband,homemakingwife,andtheirtwoormore

children, is a minority group. Two income families, withor without chil-

dren,highdivorceandremarriagerates,andtheincreasingincidenceof

unmarried cohabitation, whether involving opposite or same sex couples,

havefosterednew family structuresand radicallegal reforms. Atthe same

time, there ha s been increased re cognition of the i nherent limit ations of

thelawinregulatingmarriageandthefamily.

e public and the lega l profession are aware of the dev astating i m-

pactthatfamilybreakdowncanhaveonwomenandchildren.efemini

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zation of povert y that results from single pa renthood, fa mily breakdown,

and divorce conti nues to be of pressing concern to provinc ial and federal

governments a s they seek to enforce spous al and child support p ayments

that have fallen into default and endeavour to prov ide a socio-economic

safety net for sole parents and chi ldren.

Canadian family law is a fascinating blend of old and new. It is con-

tinuallyin transition as it responds to evolvingfamily structures.Chapter

ofCanadian Family Law identif‌ies the changing character of Canadian

families and poses fundamental questions concerning possible future

direct ions of law and soci al policy i n Canada. In addition, it provides

a review of the lega l consequences of ma rriage breakdown a nd divorce

since the enact ment of the f‌irst domin ion-wide Divorce Act in . e

fragmentation of legislative powers between the Parliament of Can ada

and the provincial and territorial legislatures is also addressed, together

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