The applicant mother brought an urgent motion regarding the schooling of the parties’ children, seeking an order that the twins attend a public school rather than a private Jewish day school preferred by the respondent father.
The court considered the best interests of the children under s. 16 of the Divorce Act and s. 24 of the Children’s Law Reform Act.
Relevant factors included the children’s existing familiarity with the public school, proximity to the primary residence, social connections in the neighbourhood, travel logistics, financial feasibility of private school, and potential impact on the mother’s employment at the private school.
The court found no evidence that the children’s Jewish education would suffer if they attended the public school supplemented by extracurricular religious instruction.
On balance, the court concluded that attending the public school for Grade 1 better served the twins’ best interests.