Bill C-223, the federal "Keeping Children Safe Act," passed second reading on February 4, 2026, and now sits before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Backed by nearly 300 advocacy organizations, it would amend the Divorce Act to bar Ontario family courts from considering "parental alienation" evidence unless family violence is first ruled out — a change that would reshape contested parenting disputes.
Key Facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| What happened | Bill C-223 ("Keeping Children Safe Act") passed second reading |
| When | February 4, 2026; now before Justice Committee |
| Where | Federal — applies to all provinces including Ontario, B.C., Alberta, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia |
| Who's affected | Divorcing parents in contested parenting matters; family lawyers; judges |
| Key statute | Federal Divorce Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. 3), s. 16 best-interests provisions |
| Impact | Restricts alienation evidence, mandates violence screening, bans forced reunification therapy |
The bill is a private member's bill that builds on the 2021 Divorce Act reforms, which already added family violence to the best-interests analysis. According to the Ontario Bar Association, C-223 represents "the next phase" of that reform effort, driven by concern that alienation claims are being weaponized against parents — often mothers — who raise safety concerns.
Why this matters legally
Bill C-223 would fundamentally change how Ontario courts weigh parenting evidence by restricting a defense strategy that has grown common since 2015. If enacted, courts could not consider "parental alienation" allegations unless the court has first determined that family violence did not occur. This inverts the current sequence, where alienation and violence claims are typically weighed together under the same best-interests analysis.
The bill contains four core mechanisms. First, it bars alienation evidence absent a family violence finding. Second, it mandates lawyer-led family violence screening before any proceeding begins. Third, it bans court-ordered forced reunification therapy — programs that compel a resistant child to resume contact with a parent. Fourth, it expands statutory recognition of coercive control, aligning federal law with the coercive-control offense trend seen in other Commonwealth jurisdictions.
The stakes are high because parenting determinations under the 2021 Divorce Act already turn on the best interests of the child. Under the current framework, judges must consider each parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent — the very provision that alienation arguments invoke. C-223 would carve family violence cases out of that calculus entirely, giving primacy to safety over relationship maintenance.
Not everyone agrees the drafting works. The Canadian Bar Association and several parents' rights groups warn the language could backfire, potentially excluding legitimate evidence of manipulation in cases where no violence exists but a child is genuinely being turned against a parent. Committee study is precisely where that drafting tension will be tested.
How Canadian law handles this
Canadian family law already treats family violence as a central best-interests factor, and Bill C-223 would sharpen that priority. The 2021 Divorce Act amendments defined family violence broadly to include coercive and controlling behavior, not just physical assault, and directed courts to consider its impact on parenting arrangements. C-223 extends this by making a violence finding a gatekeeping step before alienation evidence can be heard.
In Ontario, parenting disputes are governed federally by the Divorce Act for married couples and provincially by the Children's Law Reform Act for unmarried parents. Both frameworks use "decision-making responsibility" and "parenting time" — the terminology that replaced "custody" and "access" in 2021. Ontario courts determine parenting arrangements by applying the best-interests test, and a federal amendment like C-223 would flow directly into how married-couple cases are decided across the province.
Other provinces would feel the same effect because the Divorce Act is federal. British Columbia, which already leads with its Family Law Act coercive-control provisions, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Quebec would all apply the amended screening and evidentiary rules in Divorce Act proceedings. Quebec's civil-law parenting rules would continue to govern non-Divorce Act matters, but federal divorce cases there would follow the new standard.
The reform also touches reunification therapy, which has no clear statutory footing today. Ontario judges have ordered such programs under their broad best-interests authority, and a federal ban would remove that tool entirely, forcing courts toward alternative remedies when a child resists contact.
Practical takeaways
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Monitor committee study before assuming the bill becomes law. Bill C-223 passed second reading on February 4, 2026, but private member's bills frequently stall in committee or die when Parliament rises. Nothing changes in Ontario courts until the bill receives royal assent.
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Document family violence and coercive control carefully. If your case involves safety concerns, contemporaneous records — dates, incidents, communications — will matter more than ever under a violence-first evidentiary framework. Coercive control now includes non-physical patterns.
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Expect mandatory screening if the bill passes. Lawyer-led family violence screening before proceedings would become a required first step, so choose counsel experienced in trauma-informed intake and the 2021 Divorce Act violence definitions.
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Reconsider reunification therapy strategies. If you were counting on a court-ordered reunification program to restore parenting time with a resistant child, understand that C-223 would ban them federally — plan for alternative dispute-resolution and therapeutic approaches instead.
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Do not weaponize either claim. Whether you fear an alienation allegation or a false violence claim, the safest path is credible evidence and consistent conduct. Courts and future legislation are increasingly skeptical of tactical labeling on both sides.
If you are navigating a contested parenting matter in Ontario, this evolving legislation is worth watching closely with a family lawyer who follows Divorce Act reform. A qualified Ontario family law practitioner can help you understand how the current best-interests framework applies to your situation today — and how proposed changes like Bill C-223 might affect your strategy tomorrow.
This article discusses recent news and provides general legal commentary. It does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique. Consult a qualified family law attorney for advice specific to your situation.