August 25, 2025
RED FM News Desk
The provincial government is set to propose significant changes to the Family Law Act (FLA) to provide more support for families affected by violence and to better protect children. These reforms are part of a multi-year review aimed at modernizing the law to reflect today’s society and recent court decisions.
Attorney General Niki Sharma emphasized that a key priority is to better support survivors of family and intimate-partner violence. The proposed changes are a result of extensive research and feedback from individuals and organizations, including those with personal experience.
The core proposals include, updating the definition of family violence to include coercive and controlling behavior, making it easier to identify individuals who are experiencing violence, extending the standard length of protection orders from one to two years and expanding eligibility for these orders and reducing the burden on survivors who need to apply for subsequent protection orders.
These changes align with recommendations from an independent review by Kim Stanton, whose report in June 2025 called for improved legal protections for victims of intimate-partner and sexual violence. The government plans to provide a further update on these recommendations in the fall of 2025.
The proposed amendments also focus on improving parenting arrangements by prioritizing the needs of children. The changes would require courts to consider safety measures for any family member at risk of violence. They would also clarify how decisions about a child’s care and time spent with them should be made. Additionally, the new rules would give children better opportunities to share their views during legal proceedings and ensure their cultural, linguistic, religious, and spiritual heritage is considered in decisions that affect them. The amendments would also encourage parents and guardians to resolve family law matters through agreements outside of court, aiming for less adversarial solutions.
Jennifer Blatherwick, the parliamentary secretary for gender equity, noted that the project ensures the legal system is “inclusive and equitable for all.” She highlighted that the proposed changes are designed to reflect the diversity of family structures in B.C., making the system more welcoming and safe for everyone, regardless of their gender, culture, or background.
The proposed amendments will be presented to the legislature for consideration as soon as is feasible. This ongoing review process involves collaboration between the Province, Indigenous Peoples, and legal stakeholders to ensure the law remains relevant to modern family dynamics.
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