Family Law Reform in (Neoliberal) Context: British Columbia’s New Family Law Act Rachel Treloar* ,† and Susan B. Boyd** *Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Simon Fraser University, Canada **Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, Canada † Corresponding author. E-mail: rtreloar@sfu.ca ABSTRACT This article introduces and critically examines the new British Columbia (Canada) Family Law Act (FLA), which lays out new norms and procedures for the resolution of family disputes and emphasizes out-of-court dispute resolution. These changes are also intended both to reflect and to construct the ‘new’ face of contemporary mother- hood and fatherhood post-separation. After identifying the neoliberal context within which the changes will play out, we explain the law reform process and summarize the reforms pertaining to post-separation parenting. Key changes include: replacing the terms ‘custody’ and ‘access’ with an expanded definition of guardianship; a list of specific factors that must be considered in determining a child’s ‘best interests’; a detailed definition of domestic violence; explicit rules to guide relocation; and author- ity for courts to make conduct and non-compliance orders. The FLA distances itself from presumptions regarding the preferred form of parenting arrangements post- separation, but the post-separation default position is that each parent is the child’s guardian with all parental responsibilities. The last part of the article places the changes in their contemporary social and political context and critically evaluates their strengths and weaknesses. Our conclusion cautions that without adequate resources to support families and improved access to justice, the innovative aspects of the FLA may be thwarted. I. INTRODUCTION A new Family Law Act (SBC 2011, c. 25) came into force in British Columbia (BC), Canada, in March 2013, representing the first significant revision to family law in the province since 1979. This new statute is intended to reflect social change over the past 34 years (Bond, 2013) and to put children first and keep families safe. 1,2 How- ever, it is fair to say that it also constructs the ‘new’ face of contemporary mother- hood and fatherhood after divorce (Neale and Smart, 1997; Smart, 1999). V C The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com  77 International Journal of Law, Policy and The Family, 2014, 28, 77–99 doi: 10.1093/lawfam/ebt017 Advance Access Publication Date: 3 February 2014 Article Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/lawfam/article-abstract/28/1/77/1002863 by guest on 04 February 2020