When commercial lawyer Marc-André Landry decided to represent a three-parent family in a recent court case, he did so because he could empathize with the challenges multi-parent families face.
When Landry was a toddler, his parents divorced and his mother partnered with another woman — who would ultimately become like Landry’s second mother.
“They’re still together,” he said, of his birth mother and second mom. “My mom is a nurse by training. My dad was an economist. … My mom’s spouse is a lawyer. So clearly she … impacted my life greatly,” said Landry, who is a partner at the Montreal law firm Lavery.
Landry can still recall the difficulty of explaining his multi-parent family structure to strangers — a challenge made even more difficult by having parents who were part of the LGBTQ community.
Now, thanks to a recent court ruling, that task may get easier for multi-parent families.
On April 25, a Quebec Superior Court ruled that multiple parents can be legally recognized as parents to a child. The court said Quebec’s current laws on parent-child relationships discriminate against certain individuals on the basis of family status, in violation of their Charter rights.
“It’s a total recognition that multi-parent families should have the same rights [as] any other families,” said Landry.
‘Up to speed’
Currently, Quebec’s Civil Code only recognizes one- or two-parent families. Unless Quebec appeals the court’s decision, the province will have to change its laws to allow multi-parent families — such as three- or four-parent families — to all register as legal parents to a child.
The court case that challenged Quebec’s laws centred around three multi-parent families.
One family consisted of a man who had fathered four kids with two women. Another included a lesbian couple and male sperm donor who all wanted the father to be actively involved in the child’s life. The third involved a woman with infertility challenges whose husband had had a child with another woman.
The court’s decision could put Quebec on the same plane as four other provinces. British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan all legally recognize multi-parent families, as do some U.S. states and the Netherlands.
“We’re finally getting up to speed with many, many other jurisdictions,” said Landry.
Not recognizing multiple parents can be harmful to children and their parents, says Marie-Pier Boisvert, general director of La Coalition des familles LGBT+, an advocacy group that intervened in the case.
“The current state of the law has prevented … kids from having all of their parents have the full responsibility of what it means to be a parent, legally as well as socially,” said Boisvert.
For example, if only a birth mother is named on a child’s birth certificate, the mother could take the child and leave other parents without legal rights to the child. Conversely, if one or two parents were to abandon a child, the other parent or parents would lack legal recourse to demand child support.
Children can also benefit from having access to all their family members. “It would be an incredible pain for that child, who always thought he had three parents,” said Landry.
“To avoid those situations the law needs to evolve.”
‘A little bit of a puzzle’
Lawyers for Quebec argued against legally recognizing multi-parent families. They raised scenarios where children may not benefit from dividing time between multiple parents, such as in a separation.
There have been cases of multi-parent families fighting for increased parenting time after a separation. In January, a B.C. judge ruled that a sperm donor in a split, three-parent family deserved more parenting time.
Régine Tremblay, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law, says it is already possible to divide parental time between more than two adults. The same rules that apply to split, two-parent couples would likely apply to multi-parent families.
Any additional legal changes that are needed to recognize multi-parent families would be worth it, says Boisvert.
“It might seem like a little bit of a puzzle … but there’s a lot more benefit[s] for the child … [when] all of their parents [are] recognized to prevent … the child [being] robbed from their protections,” she said.
Quebec’s ruling does not apply to all possible multi-family structures. Polygamy, where one is married to more than one spouse, is prohibited in Canada. The judgment is also limited to multi-parent families that were together before the child entered the family.
‘Major reform’
Quebec’s Ministry of Justice has until June 2 to appeal the ruling. The ministry told Canadian Affairs in an email that, “out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be making any comment” on the case.
If Quebec does not appeal the decision, the province will have 12 months to modify Quebec’s Civil Code to recognize multi-parent families.
This would be a “major reform,” said Landry. Laws regulating family separation, insurance and pension funds would all need to be changed.
Landry says the families he represented are hopeful Quebec will not appeal the ruling — especially for their children’s sake.
“It’s so important for the kids to be recognized as any other kid,” he said.
Editor’s Note: On June 2, Quebec’s Ministry of Justice confirmed to Canadian Affairs that it plans to appeal the multi-parent ruling.
Great read! It’s reassuring to know that the legal age to move out is flexible depending on individual circumstances and province. I think it’s also important to educate youth about the responsibilities that come with living independently—like signing leases and managing bills. Legal freedom doesn’t automatically mean emotional or financial readiness. Do most landlords in Canada rent to 16- or 17-year-olds without requiring a co-signer or parental consent?