The applicant mother brought a motion to change existing custody and access orders to permit her to relocate with the parties' 7-year-old child from Ottawa to Gander, Newfoundland.
The move was prompted by the unexpected military posting of the mother's new partner.
The court found that the new committed relationship and the unexpected posting constituted a material change in circumstances.
Applying the Gordon v. Goertz framework, the court determined that it was in the child's best interests to remain in the primary care of the mother and relocate to Newfoundland, subject to a modified access schedule that provided the father with extended blocks of parenting time.
