In the media: COVID-19 triggers flood of court rulings as estranged parents argue exes putting children at infection risk

Recently, Russell joined Tom Blackwell of the National Post to weigh in on child access issues during the pandemic. In this insightful article, lawyers and judges from across Canada review recent cases of child access and shared parenting arrangements and what is in the best interest of the child.

What do you do if one of the parents works in a hospital or nursing home or doesn’t seem to be observing social distancing protocol during this time? It appears that judges are ruling on a case-by-case basis based on the issues and complexities specific to each circumstance.

In some cases, judges have limited parent’s access to their children and in other situations ruled there was no “reason to change court-ordered visits or custody, including when one guardian is a nurse or doctor.”

“This is a brave new era for family law lawyers and parents,” says Russ Alexander, a Toronto lawyer. “Dealing with separation and access issues is difficult all the time. The difficulty is heightened during the pandemic. Everybody is overloaded by the news cycle. Our health protocols are evolving and changing daily, sometimes hourly.”

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