“However difficult it may be for her, the mother’s past, present, or current mental health cannot usurp the role she plays in ensuring the best interests of the children are met, both currently and in the long-term.
“It is the role of a parent to abide by court orders until such time as the orders have been terminated or varied through legal means”: Stuyt v. Stuyt, 2009 CanLII 43948 (ON SC), 71 R.F.L (6th) 441 (ON SC), at para. 62. This is not just a parent’s duty to the court, but also to their children:”[i]t is also the role of parents to instil in their children a respect of the law and of legal institutions. A parent who does not do so does a disservice to his or her child – a disservice that can have lasting, negative, ramifications throughout the child’s life”: Stuyt, at para. 62.
In Godard v. Godard, 2015 ONCA 568, 387 D.L.R. (4th) 667, at para. 28, the Court of Appeal stated:
Ontario courts have held consistently that a parent “has some positive obligation to ensure a child who allegedly resists contact with the access parent complies with the access order.” [Citations omitted.]”