Parentage Law Reform Project Committee completes review of court orders declaring parentage at October 2021 meeting

At this month’s meeting of BCLI’s parentage committee, the committee completed its review of section 31 of the Family Law Act. This section deals with the powers of the BC Supreme Court to make an order declaring that a person is or is not a child’s parent. In its review, the committee considered several improvements to clarify the section. The committee plans to address in future meetings other aspects of the court’s role in determining parentage, Read more…

BCLI Remembers Leanne Rebantad

The British Columbia Law Institute is saddened to learn that our Board Member, Leanne Rebantad, appointed by the Society of Notaries Public of BC, has recently passed away. BCLI is grateful for Leanne’s commitment and dedication to our work as a board member over the past two years; her contributions will be missed. Leanne was a Notary Public for thirty years. She worked as a Staff Notary, Practice Advisor and Deputy Secretary of Society of Read more…

2021 Richmond Virtual Diversity Symposium Panel Video

For this year’s City of Richmond Virtual Diversity Symposium, the Canadian Centre for Elder Law hosted a panel on its Engaging People Living with Dementia in Decision-Making Project.  This panel, featuring Jessica Fehrenbacher, Jerry Gosling, and Myrna Norman, highlighted initial findings from CCEL’s ongoing consultations with people living with disabilities, people living with dementia, and care partners. A recording of the panel is available through this link.  Jessica Fehrenbacher Jessica Fehrenbacher is the Coordinator for the Read more…

B.C. Government implements BCLI recommendations on child employment

Young people working in British Columbia will benefit from recent changes in employment standards meant to bring the province in line with international standards for children’s work. On 15 October 2021, the B.C. government implemented revisions to B.C. employment standards in line with recommendations contained in the BCLI’s 2018 Report on the Employment Standards Act. The amended legislation that took effect across the province last Friday will ensure that children and young workers are better Read more…

Reflecting All Families – discussing the gaps and needs to transform and review legal parentage on CBA BC’s Bartalk

“Family law and fertility law will need to be proactive to meet the future challenges of assisted human reproduction and to legally recognize the intention of people wanting more autonomy over their relationship and family making options.” – Zara Suleman.    Zara Suleman, who serves as the chair of BCLI’s Review of Parentage under Part 3 of the Family Law Act Project, has written a feature for CBA BC’s BarTalk magazine on the gaps and needs Read more…