Christina Rorabeck

The parties separated and the mother relocated from Kingston to Welland.

The father sought primary residence of the three children in Kingston, while the mother sought primary residence in Welland.

The court applied the best interests of the child test, including the relocation factors under the Children's Law Reform Act, and determined that the children should reside primarily with the father in Kingston to maintain stability.

The court also imputed income to the mother based on full-time minimum wage for the purpose of calculating retroactive and ongoing child support.

This case involved a motion and cross-motion to change a final consent order regarding custody, parenting time, child support, and Section 7 expenses for a 4.5-year-old child.

The court maintained joint custody, denying the mother's request for a final say in decision-making and the father's request for immediate 50/50 parenting.

Instead, a gradual increase in the father's parenting time was ordered, leading to a 2-2-3 shared parenting schedule after the 2020/2021 school year.

Specific holiday schedules, rules for exchanges, passport/travel, extended health benefits, and communication protocols were established.

The court also addressed child support arrears, adjusting the father's payments retroactively and ordering monthly payments towards arrears.

A prohibition on the child's contact with the father's brother, who faced child pornography charges, was also ordered.

The parties separated in 2006 and shared parenting of their 10-year-old child.

After the mother planned to relocate, the father obtained an interim without prejudice order for week-on/week-off shared custody and prohibiting the child's relocation.

The mother subsequently brought a motion to vary the interim order to implement the access recommendations of a newly released Office of the Children's Lawyer report, which recommended primary residence with the mother.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the OCL report did not mandate immediate action and that maintaining the existing week-on/week-off arrangement provided stability and was in the child's best interests pending trial.