Quebec Solidaire calls for better child custody rules in domestic violence cases

Hand of a professional family psychotherapist writing notes in front of a couple with a child in a blurred background during a consultation

In cases of domestic violence, children should be placed in the care of the victimized parent, argue some 60 organizations and individuals who signed an open letter on Wednesday morning in support of a bill tabled by Quebec Solidaire MNA Christine Labrie.

The signatories are calling for a reform of the Civil Code of Quebec to better protect children exposed to domestic violence when custody is at stake.

Labrie’s bill aims to clarify that joint parental authority is not always in the child’s best interests, particularly where domestic violence has been established.

Rather, it states that it is in a child’s best interests for primary custody to be awarded to the victimized parent, “without automatically removing parental authority or access rights,” and “would be based on evidence, whether arising from a previous decision or presented before the court hearing the case.”

The bill would leave discretion up to the courts.

The measure is not intended to punish a parent, “but to better guide judicial analysis when domestic violence is proven,” the letter states.

According to André Lebon, former vice-chair of the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection, “the premise that a child always benefits from contact with both parents is false, and it is time to enshrine this in law.”

He adds that “it should be up to the abusive parent to demonstrate their parenting abilities, not up to the victims to prove the harm caused by contact with them.”

Labrie notes that establishing shared custody can fuel violence following a separation.

“The child becomes the instrument of this, as well as suffering the consequences. We have a responsibility to provide clear guidance to judges on assessing the best interests of the child when they have to decide on custody. That is precisely what this bill proposes,” she said.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 8, 2026.