Federal government withdraws offer of 17 Alberta family court judges when province won't meet terms

The Alberta government says it won't revamp its court system to get federal funding for 17 judges dedicated to hearing family court cases.

Ottawa now says that $10.9 million a year set aside for those Alberta family court judges is off the table and will be spent in superior court appointments across the country.

"It's profoundly disappointing that they offered those with a number of conditions attached to them," Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery said in a Wednesday interview. "Those conditions simply do not work here in Alberta."

Amery said the province and the federal government agree Alberta's superior court, the Court of King's Bench, needs more judges. However, the United Conservative Party government isn't willing to remodel family courts to get the funding, he said.

Family law is a mix of provincial and federal statutes, which sends some Canadians navigating both provincial and superior courts when disputes arise.

Superior courts with federally-appointed judges have exclusive jurisdiction to hear divorce cases and property issues. Common-law couples can head to the Alberta Court of Justice and appear before provincially-appointed judges. Both courts can hear matters of child support, access and custody.

Unified family courts are a one-stop shop for the public and lawyers. Proponents, like Edmonton family lawyer Jim Bird, say they're convenient, have a consistent set of rules and include judges who specialize in family matters.

A 2009 federal government evaluation of the unified courts, which operate in seven provinces, found they were more likely to offer out-of-court resolutions, could more efficiently resolve some issues, and gave judges more opportunities to collaborate on complex cases.

Bird said unified courts are more accessible for people representing themselves or receiving limited legal help.

The federal government first offered to fund 17 unified family court judge positions in Alberta in 2018, Amery's press secretary, Chinenye Anokwuru said in a Thursday email.

She said Ottawa never put a dollar figure on the offer and that Alberta's court system would have had to pay for courtroom space and support staff.

Alberta said no to the offer in March 2020 after the province decided to work within the existing court structure, she said. Publicly, at that time, the government said the unified family court project was suspended.

Amery said the Alberta Court of Justice is effectively handling most cases and would have been cut out of the process.

"Ottawa, once again, as usual, is imposing the Ottawa-knows-best philosophy, and that simply won't work here in this province," he said.