F.P. Huard

The applicant father brought a motion for temporary equal parenting time and joint decision-making responsibility.

The court dismissed the motion, finding the father's affidavit lacked sufficient evidence regarding the children's best interests under s. 16 of the Divorce Act and improperly sought final relief on a temporary basis without a strong evidentiary record.

The court ordered temporary child support on consent, specified the father's parenting time, and mandated that he take the children to their extracurricular activities.

Costs of $3,500 were awarded to the respondent mother.

The respondent requested that her counsel be permitted to participate in an upcoming motion to change hearing by video conference and that a bilingual judge preside.

The applicant objected to the video conference request.

The court granted the request for a bilingual judge pursuant to the Courts of Justice Act, as French was the respondent's first language.

However, the court dismissed the request for video conferencing, noting that the hearing was for a final order, the respondent's counsel accepted the retainer knowing the hearing was in Toronto, and the volume of materials would make remote participation challenging.