Quebec adopts bill granting 'parental union' to unmarried couples

Quebec City -

On Friday, Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette welcomed the unanimous adoption a day earlier of his Bill 56 amending the Civil Code and creating a new parental union regime in Quebec.

The generally well-received piece of legislation, part of a wide-ranging reform of family law, provides a framework for the rights and obligations of de facto spouses with children.

Quebec is following up on the Supreme Court's decision in Éric v. Lola, which dealt with common-law couples and caused quite a stir in the 2010s.

When introducing his bill last March, Minister Jolin-Barrette explained that the vast majority of children in Quebec (65 per cent) are now born out of wedlock.

According to him, the government must better protect them in the event of their parents' separation.

Parental union

Bill 56 introduces a new "parental union" regime that will automatically apply to de facto spouses who have children after June 30, 2025.

The formation of the "parental union" will result in the creation of a family patrimony, which includes the family residence, the furniture in the residence and the motor vehicles used by the family. During the detailed study, the minister agreed to add cottages and condos to this list.

It should be noted that a couple may decide, by mutual agreement, to withdraw from the family union patrimony by notarial act.

The plan will apply to blended families only after the birth of their child.

In all cases, the measure is not retroactive: de facto spouses who are already parents will be able to opt into the plan under a "simplified process."

At the end of the parental union, the value of the assets is shared equally between the spouses.

Unlike marriage, a parent's contribution to an RRSP or pension fund will not be taken into account when assessing the patrimony established under a parental union.

"We didn't want it to be marriage, we didn't want to force people to marry, that's why there are distinctions," said Jolin-Barrette at a press scrum on Friday.

Protection for family residences

Bill 56 also introduces a family residence protection measure to prevent children from being forced to leave the family home at short notice.

In the event of separation, the court may grant temporary use of the family residence to the spouse who has custody of the children.

This means that a spouse will be able to stay in the family home for a set period of time, even if he or she doesn't own it, ensuring a "smoother transition" for the children, according to the minister.

Also in the event of separation, a spouse in a parental union will be able to apply to the court for a compensatory allowance, if he or she feels that he or she has become poorer as a result of having contributed to the enrichment of the other spouse's patrimony.

Judicial violence

The bill also includes a measure to counter "judicial violence," such as the multiplication of legal proceedings, often to the detriment of children.

"All too often, people use the justice system to harm their ex-spouses by multiplying expensive legal proceedings," said Jolin-Barrette last March.

Inheritance

Bill 56 will allow a spouse in a parental union to inherit from his or her deceased spouse if they have been living together for more than a year.

Currently, if a common-law spouse dies without a will, 100 per cent of his or her inheritance goes to his or her children.

The bill stipulates that, in the absence of a will, the inheritance of a spouse in a parental union will be divided as follows: one-third to the surviving spouse and two-thirds to the children, as is the case for marriage.

Over the past 40 years in Quebec, the percentage of common-law couples has risen from 8 per cent to 42 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

Bill 56 represents the third milestone in the Coalition Avenir Québec reform of family law, following Bill 2 (filiation) adopted in 2022 and Bill 12 (surrogate mothers) adopted the following year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 31, 2024.