Canadian Family Law

P.F. McKenna was librarian at the Police Academy, Brampton, Ontario.

Malcolm C. Kronby, a Toronto practitioner and instructor in family law, has condensed his knowledge of Canadian family law into a slim third edition. The book is proclaimed as being “an indispensable, straightforward guide to the new Canadian law” on a number of topics falling under the general heading of family law. In his introduction Mr. Kronby is careful to point out that the book is not intended as a substitute for qualified legal advice and is primarily aimed at those within the legal jurisdiction of Ontario. The major areas that Kronby deals with are: marriage, separation, financial support, custody and maintenance of children, divorce, annulment, property rights, and domestic contracts. Within each chapter he discusses relevant aspects of the various subtopics and very briefly summarizes court cases which turn on particular points of law. Kronby endeavours to correct some popular misconceptions regarding divorce, financial support, and domestic contracts. His simple, straightforward prose style is appropriate for a general audience. The book concludes with five appendices that contain: information your lawyer will want to know; The Divorce Act; The Family Law Reform Act, 1978; a comparative analysis of legislation relating to family property; and, finally, the addresses of bodies responsible for releasing marriage certificates.

On the whole, this book is easy to read and informative. However, a number of flaws greatly diminish the value of this book from the point of view of any reader. It does not make much sense to warn readers about the constantly changing nature of family law and then devote nearly 37 percent of the text to reprinting legislation that, in the case of The Divorce Act, is sixteen years old and, in the case of The Family Law Reform Act, 1978, is six years old. No effort is made to tell the reader how to update the pieces of legislation which the author has found significant enough to reproduce in his own work. As is often the case in legal books of this nature, the appendices are designed to give the book a bulkier appearance. The weight thus given is physical rather than intellectual.

In addition, Mr. Kronby shows little regard for his readers’ ability or need to read current family law as presented in legislative enactments. He also ignores the fact that many readers might appreciate references to the cases which he summarizes in the most elementary fashion. It is unfortunate that authors of law books for the layman are not more keenly aware of the importance of drawing their readers to the actual sources of Canadian law.

Finally, Mr. Kronby has made no effort to provide the interested reader with even the briefest bibliography or list of further readings, nor does he find the convention of the topical index to his liking. Future editions of this work could usefully address these fundamental shortcomings.