Mandatory Parenting Course in Yukon: For the Sake of the Children

If you're involved in any court proceeding about custody, parenting time, or child support in the Yukon, you must complete a parent education workshop before your case can move forward. This isn't optional — it's required by Practice Direction FAMILY-2 from the Supreme Court of Yukon, and failing to complete it can delay your case and affect the judge's decisions.

What the Course Is

The workshop is called "For the Sake of the Children" and it's delivered online via Zoom by the Family Law Information Centre (FLIC) in Whitehorse. It covers the impact of parental separation on children, age-appropriate communication strategies, and how to reduce conflict during the transition.

The course is completely free. There's no registration fee, no materials cost, and no travel required since it moved to a virtual format.

Who Must Complete It

The requirement applies to all parents who are parties to:

• A divorce proceeding
• A custody or access application
• A parenting time application
• A child support proceeding

Both the initiating parent and the responding parent must complete separate sessions.

Deadlines

The deadlines are strict and tied to your court filings:

• Initiating parent (plaintiff/petitioner): Must complete the workshop within six months of filing the initial court documents
• Responding parent (defendant/respondent): Must complete the workshop within six months of being served with the pleadings

After completing the course, you receive a Certificate of Completion that must be filed with the Supreme Court registry. Keep a copy — you'll need proof if there's any dispute about compliance.

Exemptions

The course is only waived in two situations:

1. Both parents have already filed a comprehensive, signed written agreement settling all outstanding issues — custody, support, property. If everything is resolved, the court doesn't require the educational component.
2. All children of the marriage are 16 years of age or older. The course focuses on protecting younger children from separation conflict, so it's not required when only older teens are involved.

The old exemption based on living more than 30 kilometres from a workshop location is effectively obsolete since the program moved to Zoom delivery.

What Happens If You Don't Complete It

Non-compliance carries real consequences:

• Procedural delays: The court can refuse to schedule your matter for hearing until the certificate is filed
• Judicial consideration: Your non-compliance can be factored into the judge's final decisions about custody, parenting time, and support — demonstrating a lack of engagement with the child's best interests
• Costs awards: In some cases, the court may award costs against the non-compliant parent

Additional Recommended Courses

Beyond the mandatory workshop, Practice Direction FAMILY-2 strongly recommends two additional free workshops:

• Communication Skills After Separation or Divorce — practical techniques for productive co-parenting communication
• Managing Conflict After Separation or Divorce — strategies for de-escalating disputes and protecting children from parental conflict

These aren't required, but completing them demonstrates good faith to the court and provides genuinely useful skills for the co-parenting relationship ahead.

How to Register

Contact FLIC directly to register:

• Phone: (867) 456-6721
• Toll-free: 1-800-661-0408 ext. 6721
• Email: [email protected]
• Location: 2nd Floor, 301 Jarvis Street, Whitehorse

Sessions are scheduled regularly via Zoom, so you can complete the requirement from anywhere with an internet connection.

For a complete timeline of all mandatory steps — including how the parenting course fits alongside the case conference deadline, financial disclosure requirements, and filing sequence — the Yukon Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide maps out every deadline from initial separation through final order.

See more Yukon guides →