“When there is a dispute about a parenting order, all parties bear the evidentiary onus of demonstrating where the best interests of the child lie, and there is no legal presumption in favour of maintaining the existing parenting arrangements: Persaud v. Garcia-Persaud, 2009 ONCA 782; A.E. v. A.E., 2021 ONSC 8189, at para. 89; and K.M. v. J.R., 2022 ONSC 111, at para. 71.
As stated in Barendregt v. Grebliunas, 2022 SCC 22, at para. 8, the inquiry “is a heavy responsibility, with profound impacts on children, families and society. In many cases, the answer is difficult – the court must choose between competing and often compelling visions of how to best advance the needs and interests of the child.”
The best interests inquiry is highly contextual because of the numerous factors that may impact the child’s well-being. The considerations that the court should focus on in carrying out the assessment, and the weight that should be accorded to each factor, will vary depending on the unique features of every child and case: Van de Perre v. Edwards, 2001 SCC 60, at para. 13; Barendregt, at para. 97; and B.J.T. v. J.D., 2022 SCC 24, at para. 55.
The Supreme Court of Canada has emphasized that the analysis of the child’s best interests in the context of parenting disputes must be undertaken from the lens of the child rather than the parents’ perspectives; parental preferences and rights do not play a role in the analysis except to the extent that they are necessary to ensure the best interests of the child: Young v. Young, 1993 CanLII 34 (SCC), [1993] 4 S.C.R. 3, at pp. 99, 117; Gordon v. Goertz, 1996 CanLII 191 (SCC), [1996] 2 S.C.R. 27, at paras. 28, 37, and 50; and F. v. N., 2022 SCC 51, at para. 61.”