“The conflict between a custodial parent’s desire to have the children participate fully in their extra-curricular activities in order to develop their skills to their full potentials and an access parent’s desire to maximize the quality time that he can spend with the children and to permit them to spend time with their extended family on his or her side represents a dilemma which I daresay is faced by many separated parents.
In the case of Jelinski v. Grajczky, 2011 SKQB 383 (Sask. Q.B.) (CanLII) McIntyre, J. made the following observations at para. 18 on the facts of that case:
Unfortunately [the child] is caught in the middle of the acrimony which exists between her parents. Her parents cannot communicate with each other in a civil manner. There is no flexibility with their parenting arrangement so as to accommodate [the child]’s wishes and desires. They are both obsessed about “their time” with [the child]. [The father] in particular has put his needs ahead of his daughter’s, given his attitude towards her extra-curricular activities initiated by [the mother]. Rather than support [the child] in her activities as a proud parent he has created anxiety for her. She worries she will not be able to attend some events if she is going to be in her father’s care at the time. [The father] has displayed extremely bad judgment in the events which unfolded after the application was made. He has only himself to blame for the rupture which occurred in his relationship with [the child].”