The applicant father brought a motion within a motion to change, seeking an order for the child to attend Kettle Lakes Public School in Richmond Hill.
The respondent mother opposed, proposing Churchill Public School in Toronto.
The court applied the "best interests of the child" test, considering factors such as proximity of schools to residences and workplaces, consistency in the child's wake-up times, before and after school care costs and availability, residential stability, "intangible" benefits of school board alignment, and familiarity with the school location.
The court found that Kettle Lakes offered significant advantages regarding consistent wake-up times and marginal advantages in before/after care and alignment with the father's school board employment.
Churchill had a significant advantage in the child's familiarity with its location.
Ultimately, the court granted the father's motion, concluding that Kettle Lakes was more consistent with the child's best interests, primarily due to avoiding a two-hour difference in wake-up times that would threaten the stability of the existing day-about care schedule.
