Two judgments were rendered recently, dealing with the child custody question in the times of coronavirus outbreak: Droit de la famille — 20453 (by the Quebec Superior Court) and Ribeiro v Wright (by the Ontario Superior Court ).
The Quebec judgment is an interim one, setting modalities of parental access for a short period of time. The reason for the Court to intervene was in the symptoms of one of the parents. The Court acknowledged that the other parent agreed to stay his access rights for the time prescribed by a doctor.
The Ontario case was ruled upon in the absence of the parties based on the materials in the file. In that case the mother of the child moved to suspend the father’s visits because of the coronavirus situation. The mother claims that the father won’t be able to maintain social distancing necessary.
The judge did not authorize this case to be heard urgently, though. He underscored that the existing judgments should be respected. Meaningful contacts with both parents are in the best interest of the child, said the judge, calling to show flexibility, creativity and common sense. Children’s lives cannot be put on hold for some unknown period of time.
The presumption is, according to the Ontario Court, that existing child custody and access arrangements should continue, subject to COVID-19 precautions, including 14-day quarantine of one of the parents (because of a recent travel or illness).
On the other hand, the judge declared zero tolerance for any parent who recklessly exposes their child to a COVID-19 risk.
Bottom line, according to the Court, “for the sake of the child we have to find ways to maintain important parental relationships – and above all, we have to find ways to do it safely.”
On a practical side, the judge noted that “if a parent has a concern that COVID-19 creates an urgent issue in relation to a parenting arrangement, they may initiate an emergency motion – but they should not presume that the existence of the COVID-19 crisis will automatically result in a suspension of in-person parenting time. They should not even presume that raising COVID-19 considerations will necessarily result in an urgent hearing.”
On behalf of his colleagues, the judge warned: “We know there’s a problem. What we’re looking for is realistic solutions. We will be looking to see if parents have made good faith efforts to communicate; to show mutual respect; and to come up with creative and realistic proposals which demonstrate both parental insight and COVID-19 awareness.”
To sum up, the Ontario judge urged the parents to cooperate for their children’s sake.
The Quebec Government also published the Q&A concerning child custody and access rights at this time.
Particularly, the child should not be moved between homes during the 14-day self-isolation period. But for that, the Government also recommends cooperation and discussing appropriate measures between the parents, while respecting the decisions and agreements already in force. Family mediators are there to help in case of serious disagreement.
Our law firm works in the family law area and was recognized among the best family lawyers in Montreal. In this difficult time, our lawyers stay available for you. Contact us at 514 904 4017 or by email: [email protected] to make an appointment. We offer your first consultation at $125 in the actual situation.
