BC child access alert: As BC child custody and access lawyers we have handled a number of difficult BC child custody, BC child guardianship and BC child access and parental alienation cases where a denial of access for the children to one of their parent’s has occurred. New BC family law reforms will seek to prevent the heartbreaking and developmentally disastrous results of a denial of child access and will also clarify when it is appropriate to deny child access to a parent. The new section is set out below and if you and your children have been a victim of this problem call us now:
64 (1) The court, on application by a person entitled to parenting time or contact with a child under an agreement or court order may, if satisfied that the person has been wrongfully denied parenting time or contact with the child within 12 months of the application being brought, may make one or more of the following orders:
- (a) an order requiring the parties to participate in mediation or other dispute resolution process;
- (b) an order requiring a party or a child to attend counselling or to attend a program or service, including, in the case of a child, without the consent of the child’s guardian;
- (c) an order specifying a period of time in which the person may exercise compensatory parenting time or contact with the child;
- (d) an order requiring the guardian who denied the parenting time or contact with the child to pay the person for all or part of the expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred by the person
- as a result of the denial of parenting time or contact, including travel expenses, lost wages and child care expenses;
- (e) an order requiring the parties to transfer the child under the supervision of another person named in the order if, before the order is made, the person agrees to supervise the transfer;
- (f) if the court considers that a guardian may not comply with an order under this subsection, order that guardian to
- (i) provide security in any form that the court directs,
- (ii) report to court or to a person named by the court, at the time and in the manner specified by the court, or
- (iii) produce to the court, or to a person named by the court, any documents.
- (2) In making an order under subsection (1), the court may attach any terms and conditions the court considers appropriate.
- (3) If the court makes an order under subsection (1), the court may, as appropriate in the circumstances,
- (a) allocate all or part of the expenses incurred relating to the counselling, program or service among the parties or
- (b) require one of the parties to pay all or part of the expenses incurred relating to the counselling, program or service.
- (4) A denial of parenting time or contact with a child is not wrongful if one or more of the following circumstances apply:
- (a) the guardian reasonably believed that the child might suffer family violence if the parenting time or contact was exercised;
- (b) the guardian reasonably believed that the person was impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time the parenting time or contact was to be exercised;
- (c) the child was suffering from an illness at the time the parenting time or contact was to be exercised and a doctor’s note indicated that it was not appropriate that the parenting time or
- contact be exercised;
- (d) in the preceding 12 month period, the person failed repeatedly to exercise parenting time or contact without reasonable notice;
- (e) the guardian was informed by the person in advance of the parenting time or contact that the person was not going to exercise it and, subsequently, reasonable notice was not given to the guardian that the person intended to exercise the parenting time or contact after all;
- (f) other circumstances determined by a court to provide sufficient justification for the denial of the parenting time or contact.
- (5) If a court is satisfied that a person was denied parenting time or contact with a child, and one or more circumstances apply under subsection (4), the court may make an order specifying a period of time in which the person may exercise compensatory parenting time or contact with the child.Extraordinary remedy for denial of parenting time or contact with child
65 (1) If a court is satisfied that there has been a wrongful denial of parenting time or contact with a child and determines that one or more orders under section 64(1) [denial of parenting time or contact with child] would not provide a remedy adequate in the circumstances, the court may make one or both of the following orders: - (a) an order requiring that the guardian who denied the parenting time or contact be imprisoned for up to 30 days;
- (b) an order that the child be apprehended by a peace officer and taken to the person denied the parenting time or contact.(2) In making an order under subsection (1), the court may attach any terms and conditions the court considers appropriate.(3) For the purpose of locating and apprehending a child in accordance with subsection (1) (b), a peace officer may enter and search any place where he or she has reasonable and probable grounds for believing the child may be.CALL LORNE MACLEAN AT 1 877 602 9900 IF YOU OR YOUR CHILDREN HAVE SUFFERED FROM CHILD ACCESS DENIAL.
