British Columbia Law Institute Consultation Paper on Parentage

The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) has issued a Consultation Paper on Parentage: A Review of Part 3 of the Family Law Act.

The BCLI is a not-for-profit law reform agency based in Vancouver.

From the Executive Summary:

"Conclusively determining who a child’s parents are is an important part of family law. Parentage is the foundation of many aspects of a child’s identity, such as family name and relationships, nationality, and cultural heritage. Parentage can also determine important legal rights and responsibilities, such as a  child’s inheritance rights."

"In British Columbia, parentage is determined by rules set out in part 3 of the Family Law Act. Part 3 is  the first comprehensive legal framework for parentage in British Columbia legislation. It has rules that govern the parentage of children conceived by sexual intercourse. It also applies to children conceived by assisted human reproduction, that is for example, with the assistance of a sperm, egg, or embryo donor, or a surrogate."

"Part 3 addresses the legal consequences for parentage of the use of assisted human reproduction after a person’s death. And it has a provision empowering the court to make an order declaring a person to be (or not to be) a parent, in cases involving disputes over a child’s parentage or any uncertainty about it."

"Part 3 has been in force for a little longer than 10 years. Now is a good time to take stock about how its rules have been working out in practice."

"This consultation paper is a full-scale review of part 3. While it finds that part 3 generally provides BC with a suitable legal framework for parentage, there is also room for improvement. "

The BCLI will be accepting comments on its paper until March 31, 2024.

A final report should be ready later in the year with proposals for reform.