CTV Your Morning: Custody Complications During Covid - Featuring Laura Paris, Shulman & Partners

As more families reassess where they want to live during the pandemic, moves from Toronto to surrounding communities have created new tension for separated parents. In an interview with CTV Your Morning, Laura Paris, Associate Lawyer at Shulman & Partners LLP, discussed why relocation and mobility disputes can quickly become high conflict when there is an existing parenting schedule or parents are separating. She explained that even a move within Ontario can affect daily routines such as school drop-offs and can make it harder for the other parent to maintain regular time with the child. Her comments focused on the best interests of the child and why there is no guarantee a parent can relocate and take the children without agreement or a court decision.

“I think that a lot of people are under the misconception that if you have an arrangement where one person has sole custody of a child, that they have the ability to unilaterally decide where that child lives, and that’s not the case.”
— Laura Paris, Associate Lawyer, Shulman & Partners LLP

In the interview, Laura spoke about how moves out of a city can complicate custody and parenting arrangements, especially during the pandemic. She described relocation as polarizing because it often arises when parents already have a parenting schedule in place or are in the middle of separating. When one parent wants to move outside the current jurisdiction, the practical effect can be significant, and the disagreement can quickly become a source of conflict.

Laura explained that mobility disputes often come down to whether the move will interfere with the other parent’s ability to have consistent access and maintain a meaningful relationship with the child. She gave a practical example of how distance changes daily logistics. A school commute that may have been ten minutes can become an hour or more when a parent moves from Toronto to a farther community such as Barrie. That affects not only school drop-offs and pick-ups, but also the ability of the parent remaining in the city to see the child regularly. When these impacts are serious, parents may struggle to reach an agreement and may end up needing a court to make a decision.

She also discussed what a parent should consider before deciding to move. Laura emphasized that the move should be evaluated from the perspective of the child’s best interests. She encouraged parents to ask whether the move is truly benefiting the child, or whether it is mainly being made for personal reasons. She acknowledged that families often consider financial pressures and practical supports when deciding to relocate. For example, a parent may have better work opportunities outside the city, may be seeking more affordable living arrangements, or may need to move closer to family support to manage work demands and childcare challenges.

At the same time, Laura emphasized that a key part of the analysis is whether the move allows the relocating parent to continue facilitating the child’s relationship with the other parent. If the move creates barriers to that relationship, the proposal becomes harder to justify.

Laura also addressed a common misunderstanding about custody. She noted that people sometimes assume that if one parent has sole custody, they can decide where the child lives without input from the other parent. She explained that this is not necessarily the case. When residency and mobility are in issue, the court’s focus is on whether the child can maintain a relationship with both parents and whether the move is in the child’s best interests. Because outcomes are fact-specific, she noted that it is difficult to predict how any given case will be decided.

Watch the full CTV Your Morning segment here.

This media appearance is part of Shulman & Partners LLP’s ongoing contributions to Canadian family law discussions. Explore more of our media features in our In the Media archive.