Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner's private member's bill to overhaul the Divorce Act is drawing sharp criticism from some parents and legal experts, who warn it could entrench parental alienation and prolong the time children spend cut off from a targeted parent.
The Keeping Children Safe Act, tabled as Bill C-223, aims to strengthen protections for women and children facing family violence and coercive control after separation.
The bill would require family lawyers to screen for signs of abuse, direct judges to better recognize coercive control, and ensure children's views are heard more clearly in court. It also confirms there is no automatic presumption of equal shared parenting, pushing courts to decide each case strictly on the best interests of the child, according to the National Post.
One of the most controversial parts of the bill is its treatment of parental alienation, a term used when one parent is said to undermine a child's relationship with the other parent.
The bill sharply restricts how courts can rely on alienation claims, reflecting arguments from women's and anti‑violence groups that the concept is often misused against mothers who raise abuse concerns.
The National Association of Women and the Law has praised the bill for helping to end what it calls "harmful" parental alienation accusations that can lead to custody reversals or no‑contact orders against a child's preferred parent.
Under Bill C-223, judges would be barred from cutting or sharply limiting a child's time with a parent they are bonded to solely to improve the child's relationship with the other parent.
Courts would also be prohibited from ordering reunification or "reprogramming" therapies that move children away from one parent to reconnect them with the other, a practice critics link to psychological harm and high costs. Supporters argue these changes will stop children from being forced into contact with abusive parents under the banner of repairing relationships, NAWL reported.
Fears of Longer Child Isolation
Opponents, including some family law scholars and targeted parents, say the bill goes too far and could make it harder to respond when one parent is deliberately isolating a child from the other.
They note that Canadian courts have long treated proven parental alienation as serious emotional abuse and warn that weakening these tools could leave children trapped in one‑sided households for longer periods.
A legal commentary has argued that, while better screening for family violence is welcome, judges, not politicians, are best placed to weigh alienation evidence and craft tailored remedies.
The bill is now before MPs for debate and a vote, with a growing public campaign on both sides: women's organizations pressing to curb alienation claims in abuse cases, and parental rights advocates warning of longer, deeper child estrangement from targeted parents, as per Change.
