Parenting Time Withheld Over COVID-19: BC Case

Author: SiLaw Group Family Lawyers
Published: Apr 3, 2020
Updated: Apr 17, 2020

Archival note (updated August 2026): This article describes the situation as of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Court operations have long since returned to normal. It is preserved for reference; for current procedures, see our recent articles or contact us.

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Can a parent withhold parenting time over COVID-19 concerns?

Not on their own initiative. In British Columbia, a guardian who denies parenting time is the one who has to justify the denial afterwards, and the justification has to fit one of the circumstances the Family Law Act lists. A general fear of infection is not on that list; an illness in the child, backed by a written statement from a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner, is.

What this post reported

In April 2020 our office was acting for a client when the Provincial Court of British Columbia released a judgment on parenting time in the early weeks of the pandemic. At the time we described it as "one of the first provincial court judgments relating to parenting time amid the COVID19 era." The dispute was the kind that was surfacing repeatedly that spring: one parent withheld the other parent's parenting time and pointed to pandemic-related concerns as the justification.

The decision is published on CanLII as 2020 BCPC 53.

This post was originally written as a short announcement and never set out the facts, the reasoning, or the outcome of that decision. We have not reconstructed them here, because we were not able to re-verify the judgment text against the published report. Read the decision itself at the link above before relying on it for anything.

What BC law says about denying parenting time

The framework the Provincial Court was applying is still in force. Section 62 of the Family Law Act sets out when a denial of parenting time or contact is not wrongful. In summary, the listed circumstances are that:

• the guardian reasonably believed the child might suffer family violence if the parenting time or contact were exercised;
• the guardian reasonably believed the applicant was impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time;
• the child was suffering from an illness when the parenting time or contact was to be exercised and the guardian has a written statement, by a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner, indicating that it was not appropriate that the parenting time or contact with the child be exercised;
• in the 12-month period before the denial, the applicant failed repeatedly and without reasonable notice or excuse to exercise parenting time or contact with the child;
• the applicant had informed the guardian in advance that the time would not be exercised, and did not later give reasonable notice of an intention to exercise it; or
• there are other circumstances the court considers to be sufficient justification for the denial.

Where a denial is found to be wrongful, section 61 lets the court order compensatory parenting time, reimbursement of expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of the denial (including travel expenses, lost wages and child care expenses), supervised transfers, security or reporting conditions, and payment of "an amount not exceeding $5 000" to or for the benefit of the applicant or the child, or "a fine not exceeding $5 000." An application under section 61 must be brought within 12 months after the denial.

Related reading

• Parenting time denied? Enforcement in BC — the step-by-step path from documenting a denial to a court application.
• Parenting arrangements during COVID-19 — the archived 2020 guidance on schedules and transitions.
• Urgent family court hearings in BC explained — how courts sort urgent matters from the rest.

Talk to a Surrey Family Lawyer

If your parenting time is being withheld, the lawyers at SiLaw Group Family Lawyers & Mediators can review your order or agreement and explain the remedies available to you. Call (778) 381-9977 or book a free 30-minute consultation with a Surrey family lawyer, by phone, by video, or in person at our Surrey office.

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