Bill S-216 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Divorce Act (shared parenting plans)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill would amend the Divorce Act to introduce and define 'parenting plans' that detail parental responsibilities for children and require courts to ensure reasonable parenting arrangements before granting a divorce.
Bill S-216 proposes to amend the Divorce Act to include provisions for 'parenting plans'. These plans would outline the responsibilities and authority of each parent regarding the care, development, and upbringing of a child of the marriage. A parenting plan could be part of an application for custody or access orders. The bill also outlines fundamental principles for shared parenting that should be included in these plans, prioritizing the child's best interests. Before granting a divorce, courts would be required to ensure reasonable parenting arrangements are in place for any children of the marriage. The bill also suggests that if a parenting plan is agreed upon by both parents and includes these principles, it may be presumed to be in the child's best interests.
- Amends the Divorce Act to introduce the concept of parenting plans in divorce proceedings.
- Defines a parenting plan as a document outlining parental responsibilities and authority concerning a child's care, development, and upbringing.
- Specifies that parenting plans can cover aspects like residence schedules, time allocation, decision-making authority for education and health, dispute resolution, and plan revision.
- Allows parenting plans to be included in applications for custody or access orders.
- Requires courts to ensure reasonable parenting arrangements are made for children before granting a divorce.
- Outlines fundamental principles for parenting plans, emphasizing the child's best interests, the continuity of the parent-child bond, and the child's right to contact with both parents and other significant persons.
- States that courts may approve a parenting plan, even with modifications, based solely on the child's best interests.
- Provides a presumption that an agreed-upon parenting plan, which includes the outlined principles, is in the child's best interests.
- Parents going through divorce proceedings.
- Children of parents undergoing divorce.
- Courts adjudicating divorce and custody/access matters.
- Legal professionals involved in family law.
- Courts have a duty to ensure reasonable parenting arrangements are made for children before granting a divorce.
- Parents have the right to include a parenting plan in applications for custody or access orders.
- Parenting plans should recognize principles related to the child's best interests, the continuity of the parent-child bond, and the child's right to contact with both parents and other significant persons.
- The bill was given first reading on March 26, 2014.
- The bill text does not specify the exact date on which these amendments would come into force if passed.
- While the bill outlines principles for parenting plans, it notes that courts may approve plans that deviate from these principles if it is in the child's best interests. The criteria for determining 'best interests' beyond what is stated are not detailed in the provided text.
Introduces new sections related to parenting plans and modifies existing sections concerning divorce proceedings and court orders.
Source: Sections 2, 3, and 4
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
Bill S-216, an act to amend the Divorce Act concerning shared parenting plans, completed its first reading in the Senate on March 26, 2014.
This record shows that Bill S-216, concerning amendments to the Divorce Act regarding shared parenting plans, completed its first reading in the Senate on March 26, 2014. The bill later proceeded to second reading.
On March 26, 2014, the Senate introduced Bill S-216 concerning shared parenting plans and engaged in debates on various other public and parliamentary affairs.
This document records the proceedings of the Senate on Wednesday, March 26, 2014. The Senate introduced Bill S-216, an act to amend the Divorce Act concerning shared parenting plans, which was given first reading and scheduled for second reading at a later date. The sitting also included discussions on various other matters, including the recruitment of children in armed conflict, International Day of La Francophonie, an initiative called 'Active at School,' committee reports on the Conflict of Interest for Senators and Registered Disability Savings Plans, and debates on government estimates and the Fair Elections Act.
Bill S-216 was undergoing debate at the second reading stage in the Senate, with recorded discussions on November 27, 2014, and October 2, 2014.
This artifact describes the status of Bill S-216 in the Senate. The bill was at the second reading stage, meaning senators were debating its principles and purpose. The record indicates that debate occurred on specific dates, including Thursday, November 27, 2014, and that a sponsor's speech was given on Thursday, October 2, 2014. The stage was not completed at this point.
During a Senate sitting on June 3, 2014, Senators discussed various issues including co-operative housing and trade, advanced several bills, and extensively examined the nomination of Daniel Therrien for Privacy Commissioner.
On June 3, 2014, the Senate convened for a sitting that included discussions on various topics and the consideration of several bills. A significant portion of the sitting involved a Committee of the Whole hearing to receive Mr. Daniel Therrien regarding his nomination for the position of Privacy Commissioner. Following his testimony, the Senate proceeded to debate and adjourn the motion to approve his appointment. Other proceedings included debates and inquiries on diverse subjects such as co-operative housing, judicial independence, trade agreements, and the contributions of Canadian forces in Afghanistan. Several bills were also introduced or advanced in their legislative process, including the Tla'amin Final Agreement Bill, a bill to amend the Criminal Code and National Defence Act regarding criminal organization recruitment, and Bill S-216, An Act to amend the Divorce Act (shared parenting plans), which was moved for second reading and its debate was adjourned.
The Senate debated Bill S-216 at second reading, focusing on amendments to the Divorce Act regarding shared parenting plans, with discussion adjourned to continue at a later date.
On October 2, 2014, the Senate continued the debate on Bill S-216, an Act to amend the Divorce Act concerning shared parenting plans. Senator Anne C. Cools spoke in favour of the bill, explaining its aim to require courts to ensure reasonable parenting arrangements are made before granting a divorce. She discussed the historical context of divorce law in Canada, the evolution of the concept of 'best interests of the child,' and how Bill S-216 intends to balance financial support with affectionate and developmental care for children of divorced parents. The debate was adjourned to a later date. In addition, the Senate heard discussions on other matters, including the state visit of the President of the Republic of Korea, violence against Aboriginal women, a bill to amend the Copyright Act and Trade-marks Act, and the issue of keeping whales and dolphins in captivity. The Senate also considered Bill C-479, concerning fairness for victims in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, with debate adjourned on that bill as well.
Senator Cools spoke in favour of Bill S-216 at second reading in the Senate, explaining its intent to amend the Divorce Act to include shared parenting plans and emphasizing the historical legal basis for prioritizing the best interests of the child.
During the Senate's second reading debate on Bill S-216, Senator Anne C. Cools spoke in support of the bill, which aims to amend the Divorce Act to establish shared parenting plans. She detailed the historical legal context of "the best interests of the child" and argued that the bill would create a better balance between the financial and affectionate duties of parents post-divorce. The debate for Bill S-216 was adjourned.
On November 27, 2014, the Senate convened, officially appointed its new Speaker, and engaged in various debates and procedural actions, including adjourning the debate on Bill S-216 concerning shared parenting plans.
On November 27, 2014, the Senate met, and the main procedural business of the day included the reading of the commission appointing the Honourable Pierre Claude Nolin as Speaker of the Senate. Following this, senators congratulated him on his appointment. The Senate then proceeded with various committee report tablings and presentations related to other bills. Notably, the second reading debate for Bill S-216, concerning shared parenting plans and amendments to the Divorce Act, was adjourned. The Senate also debated and adopted a motion to recognize the second week of May as "International Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Week." Additionally, the Senate debated and voted on referring Bill S-7, concerning amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Civil Marriage Act, and the Criminal Code, to the Human Rights Committee. The debate on a motion concerning Ms. Asia Bibi was modified and adjourned. Finally, the Senate adjourned until December 2, 2014.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced