The applicant mother sought temporary sole custody of two young children with the respondent father restricted to supervised access.
The respondent father sought temporary sole custody with the mother's access limited to daytime visits at the paternal grandfather's home.
The court found that the children had resided primarily with the mother since the parties' separation in April 2017 under an informal arrangement.
The father unilaterally retained the children on March 22, 2020, without the mother's consent.
The court held that this unilateral action did not constitute a valid status quo and that the evidence of neglect and safety concerns raised by the father was not sufficiently compelling to justify a drastic change to the established arrangement.
The court ordered that the children remain primarily resident with the mother with frequent and regular access to the father, including three weekends per month and weekly mid-week overnight visits.
