Posts Tagged ‘custody and access’
Tips for building a safe co-parenting relationship
Violence does not always end when the relationship ends, especially when children are involved. If you share children with your ex-partner, establishing a new co-parenting dynamic is necessary. However, ensuring this relationship prioritizes your safety is crucial, and that can present significant challenges. Here are some tips, from our toolkit, The Law and Parenting Arrangements…
Read moreRecent Case: Changing a final parenting order
This case involved a father who wanted to change a final order about parenting that had been made over 7 years earlier. In order to change a final order, the father brought a motion to change and had to prove that there had been a “material change in circumstances” since the making of the final…
Read moreRecent case: Best interests of the child and family violence
McIntosh v Baker 2022 ONSC 4235 This case provides a thorough analysis of the best interest of the child test in the context of family violence. While this case touches on property issues and child support, it will not be the focus of this case comment. The applicant mother and respondent father have three young…
Read moreParenting arrangements: The best interests of the child test
Family courts use what is called the best interests of the child (BIC) test when they make parenting decisions. Whether a family is using the Divorce Act or the Children’s Law Reform Act, the judge will consider the following 11 factors in the BIC test as they make decisions about the children: It is important…
Read moreSigns Ontario girl needed help before she died were ignored by child protection workers: report
Three-Part Series into the death of Keira Kagan City News Exclusive – By: Cynthia Mulligan Part Three A new report obtained by CityNews on the death of four-year-old Keira Kagan examines how the system intended to protect her ultimately ignored the risks she faced. Earlier this week, CityNews revealed that a report for the coroner…
Read moreOntario’s Chief Coroner to launch inquest into death of 4-year-old girl likely killed by father
Three-Part Series into the death of Keira Kagan City News Exclusive – By: Cynthia Mulligan Part Two On the third anniversary of the death of four-year-old Keira Kagan, whom an expert committee has said was likely killed by her father, the Chief Coroner has announced there will be an inquest into her death. Kagan was…
Read moreReport finds Ontario child’s likely murder was ‘predictable and preventable’
Three-Part Series into the death of Keira Kagan City News Exclusive – By: Cynthia Mulligan Part One Ontario’s Domestic Violence Death Review Committee has determined the death of four-year-old Keira Kagan, was “extremely consistent” with a murder-suicide, and that it could have been prevented. In February 2020, the bodies of Keira and her father, Robin…
Read moreRecent case: Abuse of counsel may amount to family violence
In Armstrong v Coupland, Madam Justice Chappel applies a broad and nuanced understanding of the definition of family violence contained in the Children’s Law Reform Act (CLRA). The motion, brought by the father for increased and unsupervised parenting time with the young child (almost three years old), was the most recent in a long series of court appearances…
Read more‘No’ to shared parenting presumptions
In his recent article in The Lawyer’s Daily, Gene C. Colman takes the position that the majority of Canadians support creating a rebuttable presumption in favour of shared parenting in family law (“Equal shared parenting has huge support”). I beg to differ with both his assertion that this is something most Canadians want and the wisdom of…
Read moreRecent case: Parenting arrangements under the updated Children’s Law Reform Act
Ammar v Smith 2021 ONSC 3204: This case culminated in a five-day trial that focused on parenting arrangements, ownership of the family residence and child and spousal support. This summary focuses on the parenting arrangements issue only. For those interested in the other issues, I encourage you to read the full 88-page decision. The parents…
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