This text is part of the special edition Pride Montreal
To this day, the reality of multi-parent families, that is, homes where a child is raised by more than two parents, remains in the shadows in Quebec, since the law does not recognize that a young person can have more than two parents.
“Twenty years ago, we were behind the adoption of laws for same-sex parents. Today, in 2024, it’s really about pushing for multi-parent families to be recognized in our society,” emphasizes Mona Greenbaum, executive director of the LGBT+ Family Coalition, an organization defending the rights and aiming for social recognition of families of sexual diversity and gender plurality.
What exactly is a multi-parent family? It can take many forms, with different configurations, explains Mona Greenbaum. “It could be two lesbian women with their gay boyfriend who decide to have him not only as a sperm donor, but also as a parent. It could also be two gay men with a surrogate. It exists outside of the LGBTQ+ community as well,” she explains. People who turn to this family model can be polyamorous or monogamous, she explains.
According to Mona Greenbaum and Éloïse Lapointe Leblanc, one of the administrators of the Regroupement des personnes polyamoureuses du Québec, since the reality of families with more than two parents remains unknown, several myths and stereotypes circulate about them. “Some will think that it will harm the child, that he will not know where to position himself. Parents [d’une famille pluriparentale]”What they fear most is that their child will be judged at school, that they will be ostracized by other children or that the parents of friends will judge their child because they have more than two parents,” explains Éloïse Lapointe Leblanc.
Have a status
“The biggest discouragement for these families is the fact that they are not explicitly recognized as a form of family in our society. In Quebec, there are no families with more than two parents that are legally recognized,” says the executive director of the Coalition of LGBT+ Families.
Only three Canadian provinces recognize multi-parent families, under certain conditions: British Columbia since 2013, Ontario in 2016 and Saskatchewan in 2020. There is no data on the number of multi-parent families in Quebec.
Since parenthood touches on several aspects of the law, Mona Greenbaum argues that the legal recognition of families with more than two parents matters for a multitude of reasons, most specifically regarding the access and obligations of the third, or other, parent towards the child. “It’s having their name on the birth certificate, it’s being able to travel with the child, it’s being able to pick up the report card at school or for all medical decisions. For custody, a parent who is not legally recognized can be completely removed from the child’s life. It also affects child support,” she lists.
Legally recognizing this family model would also allow parents who adhere to it to feel more legitimate, according to Mona Greenbaum. “It’s not only important for legal protections, but also for social approval. […] “These families and their children exist,” she recalls.
During the provincial family law reform in 2021, multi-parent families were excluded. On February 15, 2023, the Coalition of LGBT+ Families filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec to have this type of family legally recognized.
The organization is represented pro bono by the firms McCarthy Tétrault and Norton Rose Fulbright. In June 2024, the case went to court: a judgment will be rendered in six months. “If the judge renders a positive judgment, he will give the government a deadline to change the laws. […] “This is really the biggest legal case this year for the LGBTQ+ community,” Greenbaum said.
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