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ARTICLE · 15 OCTOBER 2020

Big Changes On The Way For Child Relocation/mobility Cases

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In September 2020, the Ontario government introduced Bill 207 – the Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act, 2020.

CanadaFamily and Matrimonial
Madison Goodacre
Madison Goodacre
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In September 2020, the Ontario government introduced Bill 207 - the Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act, 2020. If passed (as expected), this Bill will amend Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act ("CLRA") and other Acts respecting various family law matters.

The proposed amendments are largely meant to bring Ontario legislation in line with the amended Federal Divorce Act, which will come into force on March 31, 2021. This will provide consistency for separated parents seeking to resolve family law issues regardless of whether they were married or not.

In particular, the Bill seeks to modernize language around the divisive terms "custody" and "access" to the more child-focused terms of "decision-making responsibility" and "parenting time", both of which may be granted by a court under a "parenting order". Access to a child by a non-parent will be changed to "contact" with a child and may be granted by a court under a "contact order". In addition, the Bill is

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