Digest: Earnshaw v Oudot, 2018 SKQB 97

• Date: March 18, 2019

Reported as: 2018 SKQB 97

Docket Number: QB18069 , FLD 40/18 JCR

Court: Court of Queen's Bench

Date: 2019-03-18

Judges:

• Leurer

Subjects:

• Family Law � Custody and Access � Persons of Sufficient Interest � Grandparents

Digest: T. petitioned for access to her grandson pursuant to s. 6 of The Children�s Law Act. The child�s father and mother were joint custodial parents. T. asserted that her son limited her access to the child, but admitted that the child�s mother did facilitate access. The parents both attested that T. had reasonable access and that they supported that access within the means of their current family life, schedule and commitments. At issue was: 1) whether T. was a person of sufficient interest, with standing to make an application; and 2) if so, whether it was in the best interests of the child that the court order access.
HELD: The application was dismissed. T. was a person of sufficient interest with standing to make the application, but court-mandated access was not in the child�s best interest. 1) Grandparents are not automatically persons of sufficient interest, but may be designated as such pursuant to the Act. T. had been intimately involved in the child�s life since his birth and they shared a deep and loving relationship. Both parents desired her to have a role in the child�s life. 2) The issue was not whether T. should have access, but whether the court should order access or continue to allow the parents to determine the frequency and scheduling of access. It was not in the child�s best interest for the court to impose terms of access.

Statutes Considered:

• Children�s Law Act, 1997, SS 1997, c C-8.2, s 6
• Children�s Law Act, 1997, SS 1997, c C-8.2, s 9

Cases Considered:

• Chapman v Chapman...