--- title: "Goldwater Droit Challenges Québec's Unified Family Court" meta: "og:description": "Me Goldwater files a constitutional challenge against Quebec's Unified Family Tribunal, arguing Bill 91 creates two-tier justice for unmarried couples." "og:title": "Goldwater Droit Challenges Québec's Unified Family Court" description: "Me Goldwater files a constitutional challenge against Quebec's Unified Family Tribunal, arguing Bill 91 creates two-tier justice for unmarried couples." --- ![Tingey Injury Law Firm YCdPU73kGSc Unsplash](https://goldwaterdroit.com/_vercel/image?url=%2F_content-assets%2Fblog%2F2025%2F06%2Fgoldwater-droit-conteste-la-constitutionnalite-du-tribunal-unifie-de-la-famille%2Fimages%2Ftingey-injury-law-firm-yCdPU73kGSc-unsplash.jpg&w=1536&q=80) [News & Insights](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights) # Goldwater Droit Challenges the Constitutionality of Québec's Unified Family Court 3 June 2025 5 min read [Family Law](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=family-law) [Marriage & Cohabitation](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=marriage-cohabitation) [Constitutional & Appellate](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=constitutional-appellate) [Firm & People](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=firm-people) [Articles & Analysis](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?category=articles-analysis) Goldwater Droit, a Canadian leader in family law, along with its senior partner, Me Anne-France Goldwater, have filed an important constitutional challenge against Québec's [Act establishing the Unified Family Tribunal](https://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/travaux-parlementaires/projets-loi/projet-loi-91-43-1.html#:~:text=Date%20of%20assent:%20April%2010%2C%202025.%20Chapter,the%20Statutes%20of%20Qu%C3%A9bec:%202025%2C%20chapitre%209.) (TUF), enacted in April. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government, under the pretext of " [simplifying the legal process for parents](https://coalitionavenirquebec.org/fr/blog/2025/04/11/creation-dun-tribunal-unifie-de-la-famille-a-la-cour-du-quebec-officiellement-lancee/)," is in reality imposing a two-tier justice system on Québec families that weakens access to the Superior Court. According to Me Goldwater, founder of a prominent family law firm, "this law violates the very foundations of the Canadian Constitution." In her view, "far from an optimization, the law creates a new division of the Court of Québec that accentuates the fragmentation of family matters between two jurisdictions. Calling this reform a 'unified family court' is a pure exercise in rhetoric: in reality, it multiplies barriers instead of breaking them down." Introduced in February 2025, Bill 91 by the CAQ represents a new step in a series of family law reforms, including the introduction of a parental union regime, which many legal experts criticize as institutionalizing inequality between married and unmarried couples. ## English translation preview Unsigned English translation of the French proceeding. [**Download**](https://goldwaterdroit.com/_content-assets/blog/2025/06/goldwater-droit-conteste-la-constitutionnalite-du-tribunal-unifie-de-la-famille/attachments/AFGMDeclJment_250602_ENG-UNSIGNED.pdf) ### **CAQ Reforms Create Chaos** Bill 91 suggests that families would be able to resolve all their disputes before a single court. Me Goldwater categorically rejects this claim by the Minister of Justice: "This reform solves nothing. It sacrifices access to quality justice in the name of illusory efficiency, while imposing an additional burden on litigants and on the justice system, which is already stretched to its limits." As of June 30, 2025, all unmarried partners who gave birth to a child after the law came into effect will have their cases heard before the Court of Québec, and not before the Superior Court, as is the case for all other Canadian citizens. Bill 91 provides that the Court of Québec will now hear all lawsuits arising from a "parental union", the new regime created by Bill 56 of the CAQ government. "This reform does not apply to married or unmarried partners who are already parents, unless they welcome a child on or after June 30, when the new parental union regime comes into effect. Clearly, this completely leaves out the majority of Québec families. Under the guise of modernization, it establishes a rigid framework, incapable of addressing current realities. This bill gives the illusion of progress while sidestepping the real issues faced by families today." "Bill 56 creates a new category of litigant. Far from addressing the reality of the lack of rights experienced by unmarried spouses, the government is creating a new subcategory of litigants: unmarried partners with as yet unborn children. These couples will certainly have rights, but they will be much more limited than married couples, with or without children, who, in addition to having more rights, maintain their free access to the Superior Court. And what about unmarried partners without children and those who already have children as of June 30, which is the majority of the population? They are, once again, left to their own devices. Not one single child alive today will derive any benefit from the new law." ### **A Populist Playbook** The TUF Act strips unmarried litigants of access to the Québec Superior Court, a court established under Section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867, and redirects them to the Court of Québec, where judges are appointed by the provincial government. However, these judges have thus far received no specific training or institutional support to exercise this new jurisdiction. "The Superior Court, with its 158 years of experience, possesses institutional expertise that the Court of Québec simply does not have. Moreover, Court of Québec judges cannot be "specialized in family matters" by definition, given that these matters have never been within the jurisdiction of the Court of Québec in the first place!" To obtain a civil protection order in cases of domestic violence, for example, it is necessary to apply to a Superior Court judge due to the injunctive nature of this measure. This requirement imposes an unnecessarily complex legal process on victims who would have to seek relief from the two different courts. This bill falls far short of resolving the underlying problems, and the government's case is not strengthened by citing the case of little "William" to justify this reform. As Me Goldwater argues, "William's case reflects not a dysfunction, but rather the diversity of our legal system. The TUF Act will not change this legal diversity, which will remain intact, but will instead create an even more labyrinthine process for litigants. Moreover, this reform will still not allow for a designated judge per family." According to the attorney, "the CAQ no longer even pretends to respect the Constitution: it acts with full knowledge of the illegitimacy of its statute, keenly aware of its incompatibility with constitutional principles. A modern Québec cannot be built by institutionalizing structural discrimination. This reform is not just a reform of family law; it is a frontal attack on the rule of law." Through this constitutional challenge, Me. Goldwater hopes that the courts will prevent the legislation from taking effect on June 30, 2025. ## Court filings Access the signed French proceeding and the unsigned English translation. ### French proceeding **PDF • 2.9 MB** Signed French version of the filing. [**Open file**](https://goldwaterdroit.com/_content-assets/blog/2025/06/goldwater-droit-conteste-la-constitutionnalite-du-tribunal-unifie-de-la-famille/attachments/AFGMDeclJment_250602.pdf) ### English translation (unsigned) **PDF • 386 KB** Unsigned English translation of the French proceeding. [**Open file**](https://goldwaterdroit.com/_content-assets/blog/2025/06/goldwater-droit-conteste-la-constitutionnalite-du-tribunal-unifie-de-la-famille/attachments/AFGMDeclJment_250602_ENG-UNSIGNED.pdf) _Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm // Unsplash_ [**Previous Post**Goldwater, Dubé Becomes Goldwater Droit](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights/2025/05/goldwater-dube-becomes-goldwater-droit)