This policy paper by Dr. Edward Kruk, professor of social work at the University of British Columbia, was commissioned by the Father Involvement Research Alliance (FIRA). Dr. Kruk proposes a four-pillar approach to child custody determination in Canada:

• a rebuttable legal presumption of joint physical custody after divorce

• parenting plans, mediation and intervention/support in high conflict cases

• shared parenting education

• judicial determination in cases of established abuse, along with enforcement of shared parental responsibility orders.