Case law
Recent case: Decision-making about children’s religious upbringing
A.J.H. v J.K.H. 2020 BCPC 74: This case looked at the issue of decision making about the religious and spiritual upbringing of the parties’ three very young children (ages 2, 4 and 5 years). The father holds extreme fundamentalist Christian views, which he wishes to pass on to his children, and claimed that preventing him…
Read moreCase summary: Mother seeking access to child in CAS care
Children’s Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin v. C.H., 2018 ONCJ 453 In this matter, the mother did not have the care of her children and was seeking access to one of the children. The mother had several mental health issues, a drug dependency problem, and a succession of relationships that resulted in…
Read moreDividing family property: Cultural considerations – Part 2
Canadian law and the Jewish Ketebuah and gifts of money and gold made in contemplation of and at the time of marriage in the Hindi and Muslim traditions and the tradition of engagement rings
Read moreDividing family property: Cultural considerations – Part 1
How do cultural traditions and norms, such as dowry and the Muslim Mahr, interact with Canadian law when property is divided?
Read moreFirst Nation vs family law case: Part three
This case challenges the constitutionality of Ontario’s family law legislation with respect to whether the OCJ and SCJ can make custody and access orders when the child belongs to a First Nation.
Read moreRecent case: Job loss during the pandemic and child support
Moreton v Inthavixay 2020 ONSC 4881: This decision relates to the father’s request to reduce the amount of child support he was to pay because he lost his job due to the pandemic. However, it is also the most recent episode in a family law dispute that has been in litigation for three years, with…
Read moreFirst nation vs family law case: Part two
The First Nation brought a motion to have the case transferred to the Superior Court of Justice on the basis that the Ontario Court of Justice had no authority to grant the relief it sought.
Read moreOCJ/SCJ jurisdiction vs First Nations family law rules: Part one
This case deals with the question of whether the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice can make parenting orders when the child belongs to a First Nation that has its own rules for handling family law issues.
Read moreDealing with school holiday issues? Pandemic-related back to school cases may help
In the early fall, there was a flurry of cases relating to whether children should go back to in-school learning or continue with online learning, some of which you can find summarized in our Case Law section. The upcoming winter school break, coupled with COVID-19 cases rising at an alarming rate in many Ontario communities,…
Read moreFactors judges are considering in back to school cases during the pandemic
The following is a list of factors judges have considered in a number of recent Ontario family court decisions that dealt with cases whether or not children should attend school in-person. Please remember that family court decisions are based on the individual facts of a family’s situation. You cannot assume that these factors will determine…
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