Bill 22 explained in plain English
Children's Law Reform Amendment Act, 2010
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Children's Law Reform Amendment Act, 2010, enhances the legal importance of children's relationships with their parents and grandparents in custody and access matters.
Bill 22, the Children's Law Reform Amendment Act, 2010, amends existing Ontario law to strengthen the importance of relationships between children and their parents and grandparents. It introduces new provisions requiring that individuals with custody of a child do not unreasonably hinder personal contact between the child and their grandparents. Additionally, it mandates that courts consider the importance of emotional ties with grandparents and the willingness of custody applicants to facilitate contact with both parents and grandparents when making decisions about a child's best interests. The bill also states the principle that children should have as much contact as possible with their parents and grandparents, as long as it is in their best interest.
- Amends the Children's Law Reform Act to emphasize the importance of children's relationships with their parents and grandparents.
- Introduces a requirement that individuals with custody of a child must not unreasonably block personal contact between the child and their grandparents.
- Adds factors to be considered by courts when determining a child's best interests, specifically the importance of emotional ties with grandparents and the willingness of custody applicants to facilitate contact with parents and grandparents.
- Establishes a principle for courts to follow, stating that children should have maximum possible contact with parents and grandparents, provided it aligns with their best interests.
- Children
- Parents
- Grandparents
- Individuals with custody of children
- Courts in Ontario
- Individuals with custody of children have an obligation not to unreasonably block personal relations between the child and the child's grandparents.
- Courts have an obligation to consider the importance of emotional ties with grandparents and the willingness to facilitate contact when determining a child's best interests.
- Courts must apply the principle of maximum contact with parents and grandparents, consistent with a child's best interests.
- This Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- The bill does not define what constitutes 'unreasonably' placing obstacles to personal relations between a child and their grandparents.
- The phrase 'as much contact... as is consistent with the best interests of the child' leaves interpretation to the courts.
The Act is amended to include provisions about the importance of relationships between children and their grandparents and to ensure courts consider this in custody matters.
Source: Title page and Section 1, 2, 3
Adds a new subsection (2.1) requiring that a person with custody of a child not unreasonably obstruct personal relations between the child and the child's grandparents.
Source: Section 1
Modifies a cross-reference to include new subsections related to grandparent contact.
Source: Section 2 (1)
Adds two new clauses to the list of factors a court must consider when determining a child's best interests: the importance of maintaining emotional ties with grandparents, and the willingness of a person seeking custody to facilitate contact with parents and grandparents.
Source: Section 2 (2)
Adds a new subsection (2.1) that requires courts to follow the principle that a child should have as much contact as possible with each parent and grandparent, as long as it is consistent with the child's best interests.
Source: Section 2 (3)
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 textProcess Snapshot
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