Hello everyone, my name is Andrew Feldstein and I am the founding partner of Feldstein Family Law Group. Today I will be discussing the issue of enforcement of extra-provincial Orders.

This issue is best illustrated by an example. Let us take a case where two parties are married and live in the Province of Ontario. The parties have a child together but later choose to separate. Upon separation, one of the parties is successful in their claim for custody of the child. After the Order is made, the access parent moves to Alberta. Now let us presume that the custodial parent has sincere concerns regarding the access parent not returning the child to their care. What is the best course of action to ensure enforcement of the Ontario Court Order in Alberta?

Section 41 of the Children’s Law Reform Act provides that upon application by any person in whose favour an Order for the custody of or access to a child has been made by an extra-provincial tribunal, a court shall recognize the order unless the case meets a particular exception.

As such, the Order obtained in Ontario may be taken out by way of Application in another province to ensure the Order’s enforcement outside of Ontario. In the example given, the custodial parent would bring such an Application in Alberta under the laws of the province of Alberta assuming that the province of Alberta has similar legislation as we do here in Ontario.

If you have further questions regarding the custody and/or access issues, please fill out our online contact form or call us for an initial consultation at 905-581-7222.