Manitoba’s judiciary is enacting its own “less adversarial” family court reforms to give options to couples who opt out of the mandatory mediation that is expected to be introduced as legislation, says a judge leading the charge.

Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said while it remains a mystery as to what kinds of changes will be part of coming legislative reforms to family law in the province, the judiciary will implement its New Model for Scheduling and Case Flow Management in a bid to fix a slow, expensive and emotionally draining system.

This comes in the wake of a June report that called for sweeping changes to Manitoba’s troubled family law system, including a recommendation that mandatory couple’s mediation be used as a possible alternative to courtroom litigation.

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