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Primary residence awarded to father to maintain sibling bonds and provide consistent daily care.
The applicant father and respondent mother sought a determination on the primary residence and parenting time for their four-year-old child, who was about to commence school.
The parties lived four hours apart, making their previous week-about arrangement unworkable.
The court considered the factors under s. 24 of the Children's Law Reform Act, including the child's strong bonds with half-siblings in both households.
The court found that the father's plan better maintained the child's relationships with all siblings and provided more consistent daily care.
Primary residence was awarded to the father, with the mother receiving alternating weekends, holidays, and week-about parenting time during the summer.
The court ordered a child's return to his mother's care, finding that COVID-19 access suspensions and foster home instability constituted a material change in circumstances.
The respondent mother (RM) brought a motion seeking the return of her child (M.R.) to her temporary care and custody or expanded access.
The Children's Aid Society (CAS) opposed, citing COVID-19 restrictions and the mother's current parenting capacity.
The court found a material change in circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on access and the impending closure of M.R.'s foster home.
Considering M.R.'s best interests, including his consistent desire to return to his mother, the CAS's delays in providing mandated services, and the instability of M.R.'s placements, the court ordered M.R.'s reintegration into his mother's full-time care by July 31, 2020, under a supervision order, with virtual access in the interim.
