Divorce Act Language Rights Start Feb 1, 2022

Summary#

This is the Order (SI/2022-1) that fixes February 1, 2022 as the day when section 22.1 of An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act comes into force in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Section 22.1 is the new language‑rights rule in the amended Divorce Act that lets people use either official language in divorce proceedings.

What it does#

• Sets February 1, 2022 as the effective date for section 22.1 in Ontario and Saskatchewan.
• Brings into force the language rights that let parties in divorce proceedings:
  • use English or French (or both) for pleadings, evidence and submissions;
  • request simultaneous interpretation into the other official language;
  • ask for a presiding judge who speaks the same official language (or both);
  • get a transcript or recording in the language in which something was said;
  • receive a judgment or order in their own official language on request;
  • access court forms in both official languages.
• Notes that the same provision was already in force in Manitoba, Yukon and Nunavut as of March 1, 2021, and other provinces and territories are expected to implement it later.

Who's affected#

• People going through divorce or related family court proceedings in Ontario and Saskatchewan, especially members of official‑language minority communities (OLMCs).
• Judges, lawyers and court staff in those provinces who will need to provide bilingual services.
• Interpreters, translators and court reporting services that support bilingual proceedings.
• It is not clear from this Order whether or how specific local court offices will change their processes; implementation details are handled by provincial courts.

Why it matters#

• It gives people in these provinces a clearer right to use the official language of their choice in family court, which can make a stressful process easier to understand and participate in.
• Courts will need to offer more bilingual forms, interpretation and transcription, which affects court operations and the services available to litigants.
• The change responds to Canada’s linguistic landscape: the 2016 Census counted more than one million Francophones living outside Quebec and over 1.1 million Anglophones living in Quebec, highlighting demand for access to justice in both official languages.
• Practically, this Order is an administrative step that sets the date the language rights take effect in these two provinces.