Afsana Allidina

The parties brought cross-motions for a parenting plan regarding their 17-month-old child.

The mother sought to delay overnight parenting time until March 2022, citing the child's young age and breastfeeding needs.

The father sought immediate overnights to coincide with his upcoming paternity leave.

The court found that the 'tender years' doctrine no longer applies and that breastfeeding is not a bar to overnight access.

The court ordered a progressive parenting schedule that introduced overnights during the father's paternity leave to foster a strong bond, alongside a detailed holiday schedule.

Following an urgent motion where the applicant mother was granted interim decision-making authority and permitted to register the child in a school of her choice, she sought full indemnity costs of $13,172.97.

The court found the respondent father acted unreasonably by improperly preventing the child's school registration and involving the child in the conflict post-motion.

Applying principles of proportionality and reasonableness, the court fixed costs at $7,000 payable by the respondent.