Dr. Siegi Schuler

The appellant father appealed a custody and access order from the Superior Court of Justice concerning his three sons.

The motions judge granted summary judgment in favour of the respondent mother, awarding her sole custody of two of the three children and ordering that the father's access and communication with the children be at the children's discretion.

The father challenged the appropriateness of summary judgment, the weight given to the custody assessment, the best interests analysis, and alleged Charter violations.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the motions judge's decision to proceed by summary judgment, his consideration of the evidence, his analysis of the children's best interests, and his costs award.

The applicant father brought a motion for summary judgment seeking sole custody of his three children and an order forcing them into a reunification program (Family Bridges) with a 90-day no-contact period with the respondent mother.

The mother brought a cross-motion for summary judgment seeking sole custody and access at the children's discretion.

The court found no genuine issue for trial, concluding that the children's refusal to see their father was a justified estrangement resulting from his past violence, rather than parental alienation by the mother.

The court respected the strong and consistent views and preferences of the children, dismissed the father's motion, and granted the mother's motion for sole custody with access at the children's discretion.