Declaration on Religious Arbitration in Family Law
The following groups and organizations have come together out of concern for the application of any religious laws in family matters using the Arbitration Act in Ontario, pursuant to Marion Boyd’s report entitled Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusion.
Notwithstanding Ms Boyd’s assurances to the contrary, we are shocked by the possibility of the erosion of equality rights as guaranteed in Sections 15 and 28, of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Our statement reflects a common position that the recommendations advanced in this report sanction the erosion of women’s equality rights under the laws of Ontario. We believe that the Arbitration Act was never designed to accommodate family matters but was conceived of as a vehicle for commercial disputes. Stretched to this purpose, even with Ms. Boyd’s “safeguards”, it would effectively put at risk decades of legal reform in keeping with an equality and equal rights framework.
Our diverse organizations share one purpose with respect to:
Exclusive use of family law legislation for the resolution of family disputes regardless of faith, ethnicity and culture
No religious arbitration and/or any principles, which would undermine the equality guarantees of the Charter in the resolution of family matters
We are supported by an international coalition of groups watching closely the Ontario government’s decision in relation to Boyd’s report. Their concern for the potential erosion of women’s rights within constitutional democracies based on religious justifications is in keeping with the provisions of the Canadian Charter, and with international agreements (i.e.. the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to which Canada is a signatory. We demand that the Government of Ontario both understand the intent of these agreements and ensure that domestic laws and regulations are not in contravention of them.
Signed,
International Campaign against Sharia Court in Canada/ www.nosharia.com
Organisation nationale des femmes immigrantes et des femmes appartenant à une minorité visible
National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) / Association nationale femmes et droit (ANFD)
www.nawl.ca
National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada (NOIVMWC) / du Canada (ONFIFMVC) www.noivmwc.org
Organization for Women’s Liberation/ www.azadizan.com
Rights and Democracy / Droits et démocratie
Canadian Council of Muslim Women, www.ccmw.com
YWCA of Toronto / YWCA Toronto
Education Wife Assault
Multicultural Women's Organization of Newfoundland and Labrador
Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes
Nelson House of Ottawa Carleton
Mouvement ontarien des femmes immigrantes francophones (MOFIF)
Provincial Council of Women of Ontario / Le conseil provincial des femmes de l’Ontario
Provincial Council of Women of Québec / Le Conseil provincial des femmes du Québec
Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH)
Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre
Pictou County Women's Centre
Mouvement contre le viol et l'inceste.
Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ)
l'Association des femmes immigrantes de l'Outaouais
MATCH International Centre / Centre International MATCH
Canadian Labour Congress / Congrès du travail du Canada
Ontario Federation of Labour
Le Réseau socioaction des femmes francophones
Interlude House / Maison Interlude
Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre
Centre Victoria pour femmes (Sudbury)
Transition House (Thunder Bay)
L’R des centres de femmes du Québec
l’Association canadienne des centres contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (ACCCACS) / Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centers (CASAC)
L'équipe de La Passerelle
L'Association des femmes immigrantes de l'Outaouais
Le Centre “Au Coeur des Femmes”
Le Centre "Entre-Femmes"
L'association pour les droits de la femme et le développement (AWID) / Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)
La Marg'elle de St-Rémi
Mouvement contre le viol et l'inceste (MCVI)
Fédération nationale des femmes canadiennes françaises
Centre D'Main des Femmes
Réseau socioaction des femmes francophones de l'Est ontarien
Interval House of Ottawa
la Table féministe francophone de concertation provinciale de l’Ontario\
YWCA Canada, www.ywcatoronto.org
Ontario Women’s Justice Network www.owjn.org