Parenting Arrangements
Changes to the federal Divorce Act came in to effect March 1, 2021. For information about changes to the Divorce Act, go to parenting arrangements after separation or divorce on the Justice Canada website.
The terms custody and access were used to describe the parenting arrangements for children in court orders or agreements that were made before changes to the Divorce Act and The Family Law Act came into force. In some cases, these terms are not used and instead the order or agreement may just set out the times that the child will spend with each parent or may describe one of the parents as the primary caregiver. Under the current provisions of the Divorce Act and The Family Law Act, the terms custody and access are no longer used. Instead, court orders are called “parenting orders” and set out the arrangements for each parent’s “parenting time” and “decision-making responsibilities”. If a parenting order has not been made, parents have joint rights to exercise parenting time and decision-making responsibilities with respect to their children, unless the parents have never lived together after a child is born, in which case the parent with whom the child resides with is the only parent with decision-making responsibility and parenting time respecting the child.
For more information about parenting arrangements after separation or divorce, please visit the Justice Canada site.