Bernadette McCartney

In an application for a status review under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, the respondent father moved for a temporary order for supervised access with specific terms, including an alternative supervision agency.

The Children's Aid Society (applicant) and the respondent mother agreed to supervised access but opposed the father's proposed terms, particularly the agency.

The court reviewed the father's history of domestic violence, substance abuse, and instability, finding his proposed alternative agency unsuitable.

The court ordered supervised access at Pathstone when available, with virtual or telephone access in the interim, and stipulated that repeated missed visits would terminate access.

The father's specific requests for an alternative agency were denied.

In a high-conflict family law proceeding, the respondent mother brought a motion seeking a payout from the children's RESP to cover the eldest daughter's student debt, transfer of the RESP control to herself, and a variation of the father's access to the youngest child based on OCL recommendations.

The applicant father opposed the relief and brought his own motion for access.

The court ordered one-third of the RESP funds to be paid out for the daughter's debt and transferred the remainder to the mother as trustee, finding jurisdiction to deal with RESPs on an interim basis.

The court declined to vary the existing access schedule pending trial but ordered the father not to enter the mother's property or record access exchanges.

The applicant father brought a motion to increase his access to the parties' three-year-old child.

The Office of the Children's Lawyer had conducted an investigation and recommended a gradual increase in access, noting that the father's doctor had no concerns about his pain medication management.

The respondent mother opposed the increase, citing ongoing concerns about the father's prescription medication use.

The court found the mother's concerns were unfounded and contrary to objective medical evidence, and granted the motion to increase the father's access.