N.B. woman demands family law changes

A Dieppe woman is calling on the New Brunswick government to follow through on a series of changes to address the disarray in the province's family court system.

A year ago the Access to Family Justice task force report, which was written by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Raymond Guerette and six lawyers, offered a list of 50 recommendations designed to end the crisis in the family courts.

Cheryl Marr has been working her way through the family court system in a decade-long divorce fight.

As a result of her protracted divorce, Marr said she's lost her house and her savings.

She said she agrees with the main recommendation of the task force that suggested moving away from an adversarial process to more mediation.

"The task force has put in many guidelines and if those were implemented I wouldn't be in this situation today," Marr said.

"I would have been one of the families that could have been through the new way the new task force guidelines and not ended up in the situation we're in."

The task force also recommended solutions that would make it easier for New Brunswickers to finalize their divorce or separation.

Attorney General Kelly Lamrock hinted on Friday in a Twitter message that changes were coming to the family court system.

"Next week, I'll be speaking on access to justice and family courts in Moncton. Time to live up to promise of equality for all," Lamrock said in a tweet.

Outdated family law system

The province has been warned for years about the outdated family law system.

The Guerette task forcereport said the court system has worsened because of a variety of factors, including an almost 50 per cent jump in people without lawyers, an escalation in the number and complexity of hearings in child protection cases, and "perceived procedural requirements."

The escalating cost of paying lawyers has forced Marr to represent herself in the ongoing legal battle.

"I had to make a decision either feed my children or pay $30,000 out for seven days in court," she said.

Marr also said proper counselling instead of constant legal battles could have saved her and her child a lot of grief.

Marr is a member of a group that meets regularly to try to get the province to implement the task force's recommendations.

"There's a lot of us out there and if we don't do something about this there's going to be quite a few more," Marr said.

"It's the children that are suffering we have to do something for the children."