4 total
Stable placement preserved; grandmother granted structured contact.
Following a trial over parenting arrangements for an Indigenous child whose mother had died, the court determined primary residence, shared decision-making, and grandparent contact under the Children’s Law Reform Act and the federal Indigenous child welfare legislation.
The court held that stability, the child’s existing bond with the de facto primary caregiver, and the father’s support for that placement favoured maintaining the status quo in the caregiver’s home.
The court found that joint decision-making with the maternal grandmother was unworkable given severe conflict, but also found a real risk that the child’s relationship with her maternal family would be imperilled without judicial intervention.
Applying the grandparent access jurisprudence, the court ordered a structured schedule of weekly, overnight, holiday, and summer contact for the grandmother while preserving the child’s cultural continuity and family connections.
Applicants lacked standing to challenge a search warrant because their occupation of the residence was obtained through exploitation, negating any reasonable expectation of privacy.
The applicants, Michael Atta and Delroy Hyatt, jointly charged with drug trafficking, sought standing to challenge a search warrant executed on a residence and vehicle.
They relied on the Crown's allegations to establish a reasonable expectation of privacy.
The court applied the Edwards criteria, considering their presence, control, historical use, and ability to regulate access.
Despite meeting some criteria, the court found that their occupation of the residence was not consensual but rather obtained through exploitation of the tenant's addiction.
Therefore, they lacked an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in the apartment or the vehicle.
Their applications for standing were dismissed.
The court dismissed the Charter application and convicted the accused of impaired driving.
The accused was charged with driving with more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.
The defence challenged the validity of the traffic stop and the roadside screening demand, alleging arbitrary detention and breaches of Charter sections 7, 8, and 9.
The court conducted a Charter voir dire and found that the officer had reasonable grounds to stop the vehicle based on a suspected Highway Traffic Act section 168 violation (improper use of highbeams).
The court further found that the officer had reasonable suspicion to demand a roadside breath sample based on the detected odour of alcohol on the driver's breath.
The Charter application was dismissed, the breath sample evidence was admitted, and the accused was convicted.
The court varied a separation agreement to award sole custody of two children to the father due to the mother's inappropriate parentification of the daughter and high-conflict behavior.
A six-day trial concerning custody, access, and support of two children.
The father sought custody of the 10-year-old daughter with alternate weekend access to the mother, while the mother sought to maintain the existing week-on/week-off arrangement.
The 17-year-old son had been living exclusively with his father for over five years with minimal contact with his mother.
The court found material changes in circumstances since the 2012 separation agreement, including the father's remarriage and blended family, breakdown in parental communication, and the daughter's escalating anxiety.
The court determined that the daughter's relationship with her mother was characterized by inappropriate role reversal and emotional interdependence, with the daughter feeling responsible for her mother's well-being.
The court awarded custody of both children to the father, with the mother receiving alternate weekend access to the daughter and one evening per week, plus extended summer access.
The son's access was left to his discretion.
Child support arrears and ongoing support obligations were calculated.
