The applicant father brought an urgent motion to change a long-standing final parenting order, seeking to retain the three children in Hamilton, Ontario, after a summer visit, rather than returning them to the respondent mother in St. Louis, Missouri, where they had habitually resided for seven years.
The father cited concerns including the oldest child's sexual orientation, homeschooling, housing, the mother's responsibilities, dental care, and COVID-19 risks in Missouri.
The respondent mother cross-moved to dismiss the father's motion and for the Ontario court to decline jurisdiction.
The court dismissed the father's motion, finding no material change in circumstances or urgency, and declined jurisdiction under the Children's Law Reform Act, ordering the immediate return of the children to the mother in St. Louis.
