Family law litigants in Regina and Prince Albert are now subject to different requirements than other judicial centres in Saskatchewan, though these requirements will be rolled out across the whole province in the future.  If a Court case in Regina or Prince Albert involves divorce, parenting arrangements, child or spousal support, or a division of family property, parties must engage in some form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) prior to the close of pleadings.  A family law matter is started with a Petition. The “close of pleadings” occurs when an Answer or an Answer and Counter-Petition is filed.

Family law litigants are required to participate in Mediation, Collaborative Law, Family Arbitration, or Parenting Coordination prior to proceeding through the Court system.  Once family law litigants have attempted some form of ADR, they will receive a Certificate of Participation from the professional(s) who assisted them.  A Certificate of Participation will only be provided if the professional(s) believes the parties made a good faith attempt to resolve some or all of their issues.  It is not enough to simply show up and do nothing.  Until family law litigants receive a Certificate of Participation, they cannot take any further steps in their Court matters or ask the Court to resolve any other issue(s) regarding their family law matters.

Exceptions to the ADR requirement include circumstances in which there is a history of family violence, kidnapping, proof of one party’s refusal to engage in ADR despite reasonable attempts to encourage same, or some other extraordinary circumstance.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as our ADR series explores the ADR processes available to family law parties in Saskatchewan. Contact our family law team at www.mckercher.ca/familylawsask.