The Ft St John Prince George Child Custody lawyers at our Northern BC office have been busily helping our Fort St John, Dawson Creek, and Prince George family law, clients. The Fort St. John provincial court is reopening June 15, 2020.
Fraser MacLean, Fort St. John Child Custody lawyer explains that a court-ordered parenting arrangement is meant to provide stability and a level of predictability both to parents and their children. Ana and Fort St. John family lawyers know that a separated parent can usually take comfort in the fact that the Judge’s orders will be respected by the other party. However, almost no one would have predicted the onset of COVID-19 outbreak, and unfortunately, some parents will wrongfully deny parenting time to the other parent – sometimes using COVID-19 as a convenient shield, and sometimes because of real concerns about their children. So what do skilled Ft St. John Prince George Child Custody lawyers do in these cases to negotiate compliance or a change to the Order based on legitimate concerns for the best interests of their children?
Ft St John Prince George Child Custody Lawyers 1 877 602 9900
His Honour Judge C. Malfair of the Provincial Court in Prince George made something abundantly clear – COVID-19 concern in itself is not a change in circumstances that warrants denial of parenting time. In VCS v TS, 2020 BCPC 60, the children were ordered to be returned to Prince George. In this case, a mother, who resides in the Lower Mainland, wanted to withhold two children from their father, who resided in Prince George in the Peace region. The facts of the situation are as follows. Starting March 15, 2020, the children spent their spring break with their mother in the Lower Mainland. At the end of the mother’s parenting time, she refused to return the children to their father in Prince George.
Ft St John Prince George Child Custody Lawyers
The mother argued that it would have been unsafe for the children to be transported from Lower Mainland to Prince George during the 8 to 9-hour drive. In the judgment at paragraph 21, His Honour Judge C. Malfair indicated that at the time of the application to enforce the parenting order, “it is evident that our health authorities deem it safe for Canadians to continue to enter grocery stores and gas stations which house public washrooms, provided they practice preventative measures such as social distancing and washing their hands.”
At paragraph 30, Judge C. Malfair, also noted that the Lower Mainland has a significantly higher number of reported cases of COVID-19 than does Northern BC. At the end of the day – the Court will consider the best interests of the children, even during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Judge Malfair found:
[31] I find it is in the best interests of the children they be returned to V.C.S. I am concerned that this is the third time T.S. has attempted to change parenting arrangements by refusing to return the children after parenting time, rather than making the appropriate applications to the court to change those arrangements. I find T.S. has wrongfully withheld the children.
Dawson Creek Family Parenting Time Lawyers
Parents and children move around and move provinces – it is one of the privileges that we, as Canadians, are free to exercise. Parents will move for various reasons, such as starting fresh, to be closer to relatives, or for economic reasons.
The North Peace and Grand Prairie region is healthy and dynamic. As in the case of the father in VCS v TS, 2020 BCPC 60, one parent may have an ex-spouse in other regions of British Columbia or elsewhere. If you are in Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Prince George, or Grand Prairie, and need help with enforcing parenting orders and to prevent wrongful denial of parenting time, please contact our lawyers at the MacLean Law Fort St. John office or any other of the MacLean Offices in British Columbia and Alberta.
Meet with our Ft St John Prince George Child Custody lawyers immediately if you have a child custody concern. Our top-rated Fort St John and Prince George family lawyers handle custody, support, family property division and protection order claims.
