FDRIO in the News, News & Updates
Conference Highlight – Panel Applauds Divorce Act Changes That Highlight Mediation, and Best Interests of Child
Family justice experts at the fifth annual Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO) Conference lauded amendments to the Divorce Act, which they say signal a “cultural shift” in best interest of the child duties as well as an emphasis on mediation. “The Divorce Act: How will the changes impact FDR?” panel, held on Nov. 18, included Dr. Rachel Birnbaum, of King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario; Nicholas Bala, a professor at Queen’s University; Claire Farid, counsel for the Family Law Policy Unit of the Family, Children and Youth Section of the Department of Justice; and was…
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Panel applauds Divorce Act changes that highlight mediation, best interests of child
Published by The Lawyer’s Daily on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. Family justice experts at the fifth annual Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO) Conference lauded amendments to the Divorce Act, which they say signal a “cultural shift” in best interest of the child duties as well as an emphasis on mediation. “The Divorce Act: How will the changes impact FDR?” panel, held on Nov. 18, included Dr. Rachel Birnbaum, of King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario; Nicholas Bala, a professor at Queen’s University; Claire Farid, counsel for the Family Law Policy Unit of the Family, Children and…
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Downey committed to expansion of Unified Family Court, unveils changes to LAO duty counsel
This article was originally published by The Lawyer’s Daily, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc. November 26, 2019 Expansion of the United Family Court (UFC), a smooth transition during amendments to the Divorce Act, and changes to Legal Aid Ontario’s (LAO) duty counsel, were priorities outlined by Ontario’s Attorney General, Doug Downey, at the fifth annual Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO) Conference. Downey, the keynote speaker at the conference held in Toronto on Nov. 18, said the Ministry of the Attorney General is reviewing the federal amendments to the Divorce Act to “determine how changes will impact our family…
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From the FDRIO Conference: Workplaces Need Inclusive Leaders to Break Through Implicit Bias
by Amanda Jerome as appeared in The Lawyer’s Daily on January, 17, 2019 Everyone has implicit bias. Whether it’s toward a specific culture, gender, or age, biases learned from childhood impact how people behave in a workplace which, Delee Fromm explained, need to be broken in order to change social norms. Fromm, a lawyer and neuropsychologist who works as a consultant on understanding gender at work, spoke at the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario’s conference on how to acknowledge bias and work towards changing attitudes. “Implicit bias,” she explained, are “attitudes, stereotypes and beliefs that are unconscious.” Since…
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From the FDRIO Conference: Indigenous Peoples Often Prefer to Deal with Conflict Resolution Within Own Communities
by Amanda Jerome as appeared in The Lawyer’s Daily on January 3rd, 2019 Approaches to conflict dispute resolution are different in the Indigenous family context and legal professionals need to educate themselves on cultural variances in order to ethically and effectively assist them, explained Katherine Hensel to attendees of the Family Dispute Institute of Ontario’s annual conference on family dispute resolution. Hensel, founder and principal lawyer at Hensel Barristers in Toronto, was the keynote speaker on Indigenous Families — Approaches to Conflict Resolution and noted the myriad of differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people that must be kept in mind…
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