When parents can’t agree on how to share parenting time, a judge may have to decide for them. Judges consider many factors when determining what arrangement is best – and sometimes, what a parent says can influence the outcome. That’s what happened in a recent case involving a father who made misogynistic comments.
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Custody or parenting time? You may have heard the terms “child custody” or “parenting time”. Before March 1st, 2021, Quebec laws and courts used “child custody”. But since then, the legal term “parenting time” is also used. Both terms refer to the same thing: the time a child spends in the care of one of their parents. |
In January 2025, a man from the Beauharnois area asked a Quebec court for additional parenting time with his five-and-a-half-year-old daughter. He wanted to share parenting time 50/50 with the child’s mother.
The court refused.
One of the reasons? The father’s misogynistic comments about women which he made both verbally and online. Among other things, the father said that women are to blame for men’s suffering and misfortunes. He also stated that he planned to teach his daughter “how to treat a real man.”
The judge also considered other factors. For example, the father failed to take responsibility for his child, leaving the mother to manage everything on her own. The judge also noted that the father tried to control the mother’s life after their separation. He would show up uninvited at her home, make sexual advances and touch her without consent.
A case-by-case analysis, but always in the child’s best interests
Every situation is different, and parenting time decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. What matters most is always the best interests of the child. Judges always focus on what’s best for the child, not what’s most convenient or preferable for the parents.
That said, a parent who makes harmful or hateful comments doesn’t automatically lose all access to their child.
In this case, for example, the court still allowed the father to see his daughter every other weekend. Why? Because he had been doing so for two years already, and the child was used to the routine. Maintaining this stability was seen as important for her well-being.
The judge also noted that the child attends a French-language school. The mother speaks only English, while the father is bilingual. Reducing his time with their child would not be in her best interests, as the father could help her with schoolwork.
What factors do judges consider?
When deciding parenting time, judges look at a range of factors. Here are a few examples of factors judges can take into account:
- The child’s age.
- The child’s needs, and each parent’s ability to meet those needs.
- The child’s relationship with each parent.
- The physical and mental health of the parent requesting time.
- Each parent’s lifestyle, if it affects the child directly.
Judges also take note of situations involving family violence, like domestic violence.