Amend the Civil Code to protect de facto spouses

In January 2013, in its decision on Eric v. Lola, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Quebec family law. Consequently, under the Civil Code of Quebec, unmarried Quebec couples who split up are not entitled to the same rights as unmarried couples in the rest of Canada regardless of the number of years they lived together. It is status quo, which means no support (pension alimentaire) or property rights for de facto spouses who separate.

Unfortunately, very few unmarried couples in Quebec sign a contract to have equivalent-to-married rights. As a result, most of the unmarried couples in Quebec have no protection in case they split up regarding support or property rights. A de facto spouse who makes career sacrifices to look after children or elderly parents can be thrown in the street in the event of separation.

Quebec’s Conseil du statut de la femme recently proposed that, after living together for two years, or after the birth of a child, de facto couples should have the same rights as married couples. Moreover, the Conseil du statut de la femme has proposed an opting-out clause (droit de retrait) for people who, for example, have been previously married and are already paying support.

The Conseil du statut de la femme is worried about the poverty of single-parent families. The fact is that twothirds of children in the province are born to de facto spouses. The only protection available is child support based on the Quebec Child Support Guidelines, which are less generous than federal guidelines for the rest of Canada, according to a recent court challenge.

The Supreme Court of Canada decision indicates that the Civil Code does discriminate against de facto spouses because it deprives them of the same rights as married people, but the discrimination is considered reasonable since the Civil Code protects freedom of choice. It is now up to the government of Quebec to change the Civil Code to protect the most vulnerable people in society.