Posts Tagged ‘COVID-19’
Factors 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…
Read moreAnother pandemic/school case: Importance of evidence
A.B. v L.J. 2020 ONSC 5248: In this case, the parents have joint custody of their two young children. The children are primarily resident with the mother, who has final decision-making authority. The mother and children had been living in Port Perry and the father in Burlington, where the children spent time with him on alternate…
Read moreRecent case: Back to school during the pandemic
The case of Chase v Chase, 2020 ONSC 5083, provides a decision that offers clear thinking about what should happen when separated parents disagree on whether children should return to in-class learning this fall. Pursuant to a separation agreement signed by the parents in 2017, the child spends equal time with each parent on a…
Read moreSupporting women to access family law supports during COVID-19
September 3/20 Update: We have gathered together links to current information about a number of important issues related to the operation of the Superior Court of Justice (SCJ) as of September 2nd. Please note: If you work in a community where family court operates as part of the Ontario Court of Justice, this information may not…
Read moreManaging back to school decisions during the pandemic with an abusive ex-partner: Tips for frontline workers
Decision-making with an abusive ex-partner is never an easy or straightforward process. Even when the ex-partner has had little involvement in making decisions or planning for the children, many of them have plenty of ideas about what they think the mother should or should not do. For women with school-age children, decisions about education are…
Read moreInformation about the Durham Region Courthouse: Virtual court appearances
From Justice Fryer. Please distribute widely. The following information applies to the Durham Region Courthouse, located in Oshawa: Until further notice, all court appearances are to be presumptively held virtually by Zoom as set out in the Notice to the Profession dated July 26, 2020. If it is felt that an in-person hearing would be…
Read moreRecent COVID-19 case: Denial of access
Robinson v Darrah 2020 O.J. No. 2016, Ontario Superior Court of Justice: The father brought a motion to have his access to the child resumed and for police assistance in ensuring compliance. The child has lived with the mother since the parties separated in mid 2015, when the child was a few months old. The…
Read moreCOVID legal cases: Guidelines & using court resources
More guidelines from Justice Pazaratz Justice Pazaratz sits as the triage judge in the Superior Court of Justice in Hamilton. He has seen a significant number of cases during the pandemic and has had to make decisions about whether or not those cases meet the standard of urgent as set by Chief Justice Morawetz in…
Read moreCOVID-19, gender-based violence & family law toolkit for service providers
It is no surprise to those who work with women fleeing abuse that many of their partners and former partners are using the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health protocols put in place to contain the spread of the virus as an excuse to engage in a wide range of abusive, bullying, harassing and manipulative…
Read moreCOVID-19 case: Urgent or case conference?
In Edwards v Robinson 2020 ONSC 2956, the mother brought an urgent motion on May 1st for the return of the parties’ two youngest children (the oldest is 20 years old) to her by the father, who had had them since March 25th. The mother made allegations of domestic violence, which the father disputed, alleging in response…
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