Ashley Gibson

The children's aid society brought a motion for summary judgment seeking an order to place a four-year-old child in extended society care without access for the purpose of adoption.

The parents opposed the motion, proposing alternative plans of care.

The court applied the principles of summary judgment in the child protection context and found no genuine issue requiring a trial.

The court determined that the parents' plans were not viable due to a history of domestic violence, substance abuse, and failure to utilize offered resources.

The court granted the society's motion, ordering extended care without parental access, but allowed access for the child's half-sister.

This is a corrigendum to an endorsement issued on February 24, 2016.

The court corrected paragraphs 22 and 24 to reflect that one child is no longer a child of the marriage, terminating the applicant's child support obligation for that child effective June 1, 2015.

Child support for the remaining child was recalculated to $639.00 per month based on the applicant's 2015 income.

The applicant mother brought a motion for a declaration that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice had jurisdiction over all matrimonial issues, including custody, support, and property division.

The respondent father argued that a New Orleans court had already assumed jurisdiction over the divorce and ancillary matters, excluding custody.

The court found it had jurisdiction simpliciter due to the mother and child's habitual residence in Ontario.

However, applying the doctrine of forum non conveniens, the court stayed all claims except custody and access to avoid conflicting judgments with the New Orleans court.

The applicant father sought unsupervised access and joint custody of his young son.

The respondent mother opposed, citing fears for her safety and alleging the father had anger and alcohol issues, and requested continued supervised access.

After a lengthy trial reviewing the parties' tumultuous relationship and the father's successful supervised visits, the court found no evidence the father posed a danger to the child.

The court ordered joint custody with divided final decision-making authority, a progressive schedule for unsupervised access, and mandated the use of Our Family Wizard for communication.