Written by Pamela Cross, LLB, LLD
This case summary is a bit different from most that we post here, because it is about an important procedural matter rather than about the legal issues between the two parties to the case.
As you all know from your work, the number of people engaged in family court proceedings who do not have a lawyer is very high.
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Written by Pamela Cross, LLB, LLD
This was a long and bitterly fought case, that played out over five years of a young child’s life. In 2019, Justice Eberhard made a consent order that the parents would share the care of their child on a week-about schedule and make decisions relating to the child jointly.
Written by Pamela Cross, LLB, LLD
This is a criminal law case that intersects with a family law case in an interesting way.
The accused and the complainant were married for a number of years, and had two children together. After they separated, and after initial family court proceedings had concluded,
In this case the Mother and Father had previously lived in Peru, however, after separation the Mother and child fled to Canada as the Mother was fearful for her and the child’s safety due to the Father’s extremely abusive conduct. The Father eventually followed the Mother and child to Canada and the trial for this case was heard in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
There were several issues that were addressed at trial,
Family law legislation in a number of Canadian jurisdictions – Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick and the Yukon – grants grandparents explicit rights to seek time with their grandchildren. However, neither the federal Divorce Act nor Ontario’s Children’s Law Reform Act does so, meaning that a grandparent in Ontario must rely on more general terms in the statutes that allow “persons other than a parent of the child” to apply to the court for what is called a contact order.
In this decision, Justice Mandhane makes a number of important statements with respect to family violence and parenting arrangements. She also explores the concept of applying restorative justice principles in family law cases.
Background
The parents met online and began dating in 2009. They started living together in 2012 and got married in 2015.
The mother, in this case, applied for leave to have a licensed paralegal act as her agent in a family law proceeding that involved parenting issues and family violence. While Justice Sah makes it clear that she has no concerns about the skills or integrity of the paralegal,
In this case, the father brought a contempt motion against the mother, alleging various breaches of the parenting provisions of a final court order.
His motion claimed the mother had failed to provide documents related to the children, withheld the children from him, made false accusations against him and had spoken negatively about him to the children.
This case, written by Justice Pazaratz, provides a good overview of status quo and without prejudice interim parenting orders.
The applicant mother and the respondent father had one child together, who was eight years old at the time of this motion. The other respondent, who did not participate in the motion,
This case explores the issue of family violence in the context of an interim parenting arrangements motion.
The mother and father were married in India in 2017, after which they moved back and forth between India and Canada twice. They have two young daughters; one born in 2018 and the other in 2023.
