Raquel Beauvais-Godard

The parties disputed the school choice and interim parenting schedule for their 12-year-old son.

The applicant mother sought to maintain the status quo parenting schedule and enroll the child in a high school near her home.

The respondent father sought an equal parenting schedule and to enroll the child in a high school near his home.

The Office of the Children's Lawyer advocated for the child's stated preference for equal time and the father's school choice.

The court found the father had inappropriately influenced the child's views and that the mother had been the primary parent.

The court ordered the child to attend the mother's choice of school and maintained the status quo parenting schedule, finding it in the child's best interests.

The applicant mother and respondent father separated after nine years of marriage.

The mother sought sole custody of their nine-year-old child, supervised access for the father, and child support.

The father sought shared custody.

The court found that the father had unresolved mental health issues, exhibited aggressive behaviour towards third parties, and was entirely unable to communicate effectively with the mother.

Applying the best interests of the child test, the court awarded sole custody to the mother and ordered that the father's access be supervised, subject to a review in six months.

The court also maintained a restraining order against the father and ordered him to pay child support and arrears.