What are the principles to apply on an interim motion for a contact order where the moving party's status as a parent is in issue?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Wright v. Ferguson, 2021 ONSC 7506 (CanLII):

The principles to be applied on an interim motion for a contact order where the moving party’s status as a “parent” is in issue were summarized by Labrosse J. at para. 21 of his decision in Villeneuve v. Bell, 2018 ONSC 4518. Those principles include the following: • An individual who does not fall within the definition of “parent” does not have a presumptive right to either (a) contact,[2] or (b) maintaining a relationship with the child; • The individual whose status as a parent is in issue bears the onus of establishing that it is in the child’s best interests that a relationship between the individual and the child be maintained; and • The court will not usually grant a contact order to a non-parent where (a) the parent with decision-making responsibility objects, and (b) there is no obvious benefit to the child from ongoing contact with the non-parent.0F[3]

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