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Bodnaruk Law

Mobility Applications

When a Parent Wants to Move a Child Outside Alberta

Mobility (Relocation) Applications in Alberta arise when one parent wants to move with the child/children to another city, province, or country, and the other parent does not agree to the relocation.

Section 16.9 of the Divorce Act (Canada) requires a parent intending to relocate with the child/children to another city, province, or country, to notify the other parent of their intention to relocate at least 60 days before the expected date of the proposed relocation. The notice provided by the parent intending to relocate must inform the other parent of:

  • the expected date of the relocation;

  • the address of the new residence and contact information for the parent and child/children;

  • a proposal for how parenting time, decision-making responsibility, or contact could be exercised after the move; and

  • any other information that may be relevant to the relocation.

Free Consultation

If you are a parent seeking to relocate with your child/children, or if you are a parent who is opposed to the relocation of your child/children, please contact our office for a free consultation at: (403) 288-0009 or at: murray@bodnaruklaw.com

Notice, Objections, and Court Considerations for Relocation

A parent who has given notice under Section 16.9 and who intends to relocate with the child/children may do so as of the date referred to in the notice if the other parent does not object to the relocation within 30 days after the date the notice is received, or if the relocation is authorized by a court.

Section 16(1) of the Divorce Act (Canada) states the court shall take into consideration only the best interests of the child/children of the marriage in making a parenting order or a contact order. In determining what is in the best interests of a child/children the court shall ensure the greatest possible protection of the child’s/children’s physical, psychological, and emotional safety, and consider all the child’s/children’s needs and circumstances.

Mobility applications are not addressed in the Family Law Act (Alberta). As a result, any Mobility Application made by a parent who was not married to the other parent of their child, must rely on the relevant sections of the Divorce Act.

Burden of Proof – Shared Parenting

If the parents are in substantial compliance with an Order, Arbitration Award, or Agreement that directs that the child/children shall spend approximately equal time in the care of each parent, the parent who intends to relocate with the child/children has the burden of proving the relocation would be in the best interests of the child/children.

Burden of Proof – Primary care by one parent

If the parents are in substantial compliance with an Order, Arbitration Award, or Agreement that directs the child/children shall spend most of their time in the care of the parent who intends to relocate with the child/children, the parent opposing the relocation application has the burden of proving the relocation would not be in the best interests of the child/children.

Factors Courts Consider in Mobility Applications

In deciding whether to grant a Mobility Order, the court shall determine whether the proposed relocation is in he the best interests of the child/children by taking into consideration the following:

  • the reasons for the relocation.
  • the impact of the relocation on the child/children;
  • the amount of time spent with the child/children by each person who has parenting time or a pending application for a parenting order and the level of involvement in the child’s/children’s life of each of those parents;
  • whether the parent who intends to relocate the child/children complied with any applicable notice requirement under Section 16.9, provincial family law legislation, an order, arbitral award, or agreement;
  • the existence of an order, arbitral award, or agreement that specifies the geographic area in which the child/children is/are to reside;
  • the reasonableness of the proposal of the parent who intends to relocate the child/children to vary the exercise of parenting time, decision-making responsibility, or contact, taking into consideration, among other things, the location of the new place of residence and the travel expenses; and
  • whether each parent who has parenting time or decision-making responsibility or a pending application for a parenting order has complied with their obligations under family law legislation, an order, arbitral award, or agreement, and the likelihood of future compliance.

In deciding whether to grant an Order allowing a parent to relocate with a child, the court shall not consider whether the parent who intends to relocate with the child/children would relocate without the child/children.