Victoria Colby

In this high-conflict family law trial, the court determined custody and access arrangements for three children following the separation of unmarried parents.

The mother sought sole custody with the children residing in Scarborough; the father sought sole custody with the children residing in Oakville.

The court found both parents had significant parenting deficits and were engaged in a toxic relationship.

The mother was actively undermining the children's relationship with their father through alienating conduct, including telling the oldest child the father was not her biological father and changing the middle child's name.

The father had chronic housing and employment instability, having been evicted multiple times.

The court ordered joint custody with a shared residential schedule, with the children residing primarily with the mother during school weeks in Scarborough to ensure housing stability, while maintaining regular contact with the father.

The court emphasized that the mother's alienating conduct must cease or she risked losing custody.

The applicant mother brought an urgent motion for an order that the children reside with her pending the release of the trial judgment in a custody and access matter.

The respondent father brought a motion to re-open the trial to introduce fresh evidence regarding his changed circumstances following his separation from his common law spouse and his loss of rental accommodation.

The court allowed the father's motion to re-open the trial to hear evidence of his new plan of care for the children, but limited the scope of the evidence to matters arising after the close of trial.

The court reserved its ruling on the mother's motion pending the hearing of the fresh evidence.

The defendant was charged with assault causing bodily harm to Marlon Haynes, assault and robbery with respect to Tanika McLeod, arising from a nightclub altercation in Oshawa.

The court found the defendant guilty of assaulting Tanika McLeod but acquitted him of the assault causing bodily harm to Marlon Haynes and the robbery charge.

The court rejected the defendant's testimony regarding his flight from police, finding it demonstrated consciousness of guilt, but accepted his explanation that he mistakenly picked up the complainant's property believing it to be his own.