M.D.T. v. M.L.S.M., (2014) 450 Sask.R. 23 (QB)

• Judge: Goebel, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Saskatchewan (Canada)
• Case Date: July 09, 2014
• Jurisdiction: Saskatchewan
• Citations: (2014), 450 Sask.R. 23 (QB);2014 SKQB 209

M.D.T. v. M.L.S.M. (2014), 450 Sask.R. 23 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2014] Sask.R. TBEd. SE.017

M.D.T. (petitioner) v. M.L.S.M. (respondent)

(2013 Div. No. 675; 2014 SKQB 209)

Indexed As: M.D.T. v. M.L.S.M.

Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench

Judicial Centre of Saskatoon

Goebel, J.

July 9, 2014.

Summary:

The custodial parent of five year old twin girls applied for a court order permitting him to move with the twins from Saskatoon to Kelowna, B.C., on an interim basis, to permit him to accept an employment offer giving him significantly higher income. The mother, a recovering substance abuser, who had limited contact with the twins in the past four years, opposed the move.

The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench held that it was in the best interests of the twins that their father be permitted to relocate to Kelowna with them, with access to the mother in Saskatoon at the father's expense.

Editor's Note: Certain names in the following case have been initialized or the case otherwise edited to prevent the disclosure of identities where required by law, publication ban, Maritime Law Book's editorial policy or otherwise.

Family Law - Topic 1865

Custody and access - Duties and rights of custodian - To remove child from the jurisdiction - The parents of five year old twin girls born in 2009 separated in 2010 - The mother had substance abuse issues - For the past four years the father was the primary caregiver, first with consent and then under a court order - The mother had weekly supervised access, but limited contact with the twins in the past four years due to her substance abuse - In 2013, pending the hearing of the divorce and matrimonial property proceedings, the father applied for a court order permitting him to move, on an interim basis, with the twins from Saskatoon to Kelowna, B.C. - His employer offered him significantly increased income to open a branch office there - It was a time-limited job opportunity - The mother opposed the move - The father was the sole financial provider and psychological parent - The mother paid no support and was unlikely to do so in the immediate future - One of the twins was autistic and the father arranged appropriate therapies - The father agreed to promote a relationship between the twins and their mother as long as she remained clean and sober - He offered to return to Saskatoon every second weekend at his own cost to allow access by the mother - The twins would undergo a significant transition this year whether they moved or not - They would be leaving their daycare and entering kindergarten - The lease was up on the father's Saskatoon home, so they would have to move regardless - The mother argued that she had been clean for eight months and that the move would jeopardize the relationship she hoped to build with the twins - The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench held that it was in the best interests of the twins to permit the father to move with them to Kelowna.

Family Law - Topic 1948

Custody and access - Variation of custody and access rights - Change of residence of child - [See Family Law - Topic 1865 ].

Family Law - Topic 2055

Custody and access - Interim custody - Removal of child from jurisdiction - [See Family Law - Topic 1865 ].

Cases Noticed:

Mantyka v. Dueck (2012), 399 Sask.R. 303; 552 W.A.C. 303; 2012 SKCA 109, refd to. [para. 22].

M.B. v. D.A.C., 2014 ONCJ 273, refd to. [para. 23].

Cline v. Jagusic (2013), 430 Sask.R. 315; 2013 SKQB 370 (Fam. Div.), refd to. [para. 24].

H.S. v. C.S. (2006), 279 Sask.R. 55; 372 W.A.C. 55; 2006 SKCA 45, refd to. [para. 24].

Griffith v. MacNeil, [2003] Sask.R. Uned. 198; 2003 SKQB 377 (Fam. Div.), refd to. [para. 24].

Shiplack v. Shiplack (2008), 317 Sask.R. 223; 2008 SKQB 254 (Fam. Div.), refd to. [para. 24].

Stomp v. Cadman, [2008] Sask.R. Uned. 127; 2008 SKQB 293 (Fam. Div.), refd to. [para. 24].

J.E.K. v. B.K. (2013), 415 Sask.R. 51; 2013 SKQB 59, refd to. [para. 24].

Counsel:

Lea M. Lapointe, for the petitioner;

M.L.S.M., respondent, on his own behalf.

This application was heard before Goebel, J., of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench, Judicial Centre of Saskatoon, who delivered the following judgment on July 9, 2014.