Leonard Kotylo

The Children's Aid Society of Toronto brought a summary judgment motion.

The respondent mother, F.G., sought to retract her consent to a final custody order placing her 21-month-old son with the maternal grandmother, D.N., which had been made pursuant to an agreed statement of facts.

The court denied the mother's request to retract consent, finding that her arguments did not meet the criteria under Rule 25(19) of the Family Law Rules for setting aside an order, and the alleged "new evidence" was not a valid ground.

The court also found that the Society met the test for summary judgment under Rule 16(6) of the Family Law Rules, as there was no genuine issue for trial regarding disposition and access.

The final order for custody with the maternal grandmother remained in effect, and the final order regarding access to the mother was granted as sought by the Society.

The father appealed a trial judgment granting sole custody to the mother with minimal access to the father.

Following the trial, the order was stayed, and the parties reverted to a shared parenting arrangement.

Fresh evidence, including multiple updated Office of the Children's Lawyer reports, demonstrated that the parties' communication had significantly improved following counseling and that the child strongly preferred spending equal time with both parents.

The court set aside the trial judgment, finding it was no longer in the child's best interests, and ordered joint custody with a shared parenting schedule.