CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Heather Hansen, Shannon Beddoe, Maureen Edwards and Victoria Lunetta, McCarthy Hansen & Company LLP
3.2 Living/Contact Arrangements and Child Maintenance Living/Contact Arrangements In Canada, children have the right to have con - tact with their parents. As a result, either parent can apply to the court to request that a parent - ing schedule be ordered. This can be done as part of a divorce application, an application that considers support issues, or as a standalone application. Several factors must be considered when determining what the appropriate parent - ing schedule should be, but the court’s primary consideration is always what is in the best inter - ests of that child. Following the breakdown of a relationship or a marriage, the legal approach to determining questions of custody and parental responsibility is one that focuses on the best interests of the child. The court will give primary consideration to the child’s physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being. The status quo is not the default position in determining what is in the best interests of the child and by the same token, there is no presumption in favour of shared or equal parenting arrangements and/ or decision-making responsibility regimes. The sole focus of the court is the best interests of the child in the specific factual context before it. Child Maintenance In Canada, child support is defined as the amount of financial support one parent must pay to the other parent to help support their child or children while in the care of the other parent. Canada’s Federal Child Support Guidelines are rules and tables for calculating the quantum of child support one parent must pay to the other parent. The quantum of child support that one (or each) parent is responsible for depends on several factors – among which are the division
provinces, there are statutory requirements to screen for domestic violence and to apply the law of the province in the private ADR process. Parties may contract into mediation only, media - tion with focused arbitration on specific issues, or full arbitration on all issues. There are no universal statutory obligations for parties to explore ADR methods. However, the case law in most provinces speaks to the posi - tive obligation of parties to divert their dispute from the litigation process and attempt ADR in advance of litigation. That being said, many cas - es are not appropriate for ADR and counsel must consider the appropriate screening requirements before referring matters to private dispute reso - lution. In the case of a settlement reached through negotiation and memorialised in a final agree - ment, the courts will generally enforce the agree - ment in the absence of a material defect. In cases where the parties properly enter into an arbitral process and a decision is made by the arbitrator, the court will treat such an award as valid and enforceable, provided that the award has not been successfully appealed, varied or set aside.
3. Child Law 3.1 Choice of Jurisdiction
As regards the grounds for jurisdiction and the possibility of contesting jurisdiction and/or stay - ing proceedings in domestic child-related pro - ceedings, please refer to 2.1 Choice of Juris- diction .
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