Ont. cuts religious arbitration panels.Toronto -- Tribunals set up by religious groups will no longer be able to offer family law arbitrations under the province's Arbitration Act. Decisions of religious panels will now have the effect of being advisory and not enforceable under Ontario law. This was the response of the government to a controversy aroused by the application of the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice group to be recognized under the Arbitrations Act. Several Islamic groups Noun 1. Islamic Group - a clandestine group of southeast Asian terrorists organized in 1993 and trained by al-Qaeda; supports militant Muslims in Indonesia and the Philippines and has cells in Singapore and Malaysia and Indonesia and a number of women's groups opposed the application as a challenge to women's rights The effort to secure equal rights for women and to remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions, and behavioral patterns. The women's rights movement began in the nineteenth century with the demand by some women reformers for the right to vote, known as suffrage, and and child welfare principles. The government's decision rejects a recommendation by former Attorney General Marion Boyd
The government's decision also affects Jewish and Catholic bodies that have functioned under the Act for several decades. The Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress is an umbrella group of Jewish organizations in Canada and constitutes one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country though it often competes with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. complained of the lack of communication with the communities concerned and are asking that the changes be submitted to a committee where they can have an opportunity to respond. "We support efforts to ensure that women's decisions are free, voluntary and uncoerced on all matters of family law," CJC CJC Canadian Jewish Congress (Congrès Juif Canadien) CJC Criminal Justice Commission (Queensland, Australia) CJC Canadian Judicial Council CJC Criminal Justice Center CJC Commission on Judicial Conduct legal counsel Mark Freiman said. "But those safeguards should include a woman's right freely to make those decisions, informed by her conscience, faith or religion." People would still have the right to seek advice from any source in matters of family law, including religious leaders Attorney General Michael Bryant There have been several well-known people named Michael Bryant, including:
The amended legislation requires that a family arbitration agreement be in writing and that each party receive independent legal advice before entering into an arbitration agreement. Other provisions are: * The right to appeal and arbitration cannot be waived, * Advance agreements to arbitrate family law matters are prohibited. * All family arbitration decisions would have to be made in the best interests of children. The proposed legislation also authorizes the regulation of family law arbitrators for the first time. The arbitrators would be required to: * Be members of a recognized professional dispute resolution organization, * Undergo training, including training in screening parties separately for power imbalances and domestic violence, * Inquire in·quire also en·quire v. in·quired, in·quir·ing, in·quires v.intr. 1. To seek information by asking a question: inquired about prices. 2. into matters such as power imbalances and domestic violence, * Keep proper records and submit reports to be tracked by the Ministry of the Attorney General. The Ontario Women's Directorate The Ontario Women's Directorate is a government agency under the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration responsible for women's issues, specifically: violence against women and economic independence. is developing a program to educate Ontarians to understand their rights under family law and family law arbitrations. |
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