Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to make a comment here about a change that committee wanted to bring forward. I wanted to just explain that this amendment did not change the bill, and what it was that committee wished to highlight.
The amendment that committee brought forward was to allow for the court to order mediation. It would have a family or someone could apply to the court for an order directing that mediation or some other mechanism could occur. The amendment also directed that the costs of the mediation or the mechanism would be paid by the director of child and family services.
Committee didn’t wish to bring this motion to the floor. I think committee kind of understood where the department was coming from, but I felt it important to mention that we felt strongly enough to make an amendment. We felt strongly enough about mediation and the need for it to make an amendment in our clause-by-clause review. I can understand the department’s position. Generally, by the time it gets to court, mediation has already been offered and maybe refused, and their position was that you can’t make somebody mediate if they’re not willing to. There was a concern on the part of the department about the costs that would be involved, unanticipated costs that they hadn’t considered when they were developing the bill. A motion was made to amend it and it was not concurred with by the Minister, so that part of the bill did not change.