What is the difference between custody and decision-making responsibility under the New Brunswick Family Law Act?

This answer covers the law of New Brunswick.

Under the New Brunswick Family Law Act, the old terms custody and access have been replaced by decision-making responsibility and parenting time. Decision-making responsibility is responsibility for making significant decisions about a child's well-being, including health, education, culture and religion, and significant extra-curricular activities. Parenting time is the time a child spends in the care of a parent or person standing in a parent's place.

Under the Divorce Act, the person with parenting time has exclusive authority to make day-to-day decisions affecting the child during that time, unless the court orders otherwise, while decision-making responsibility may be allocated to one spouse, both spouses or others. Unless a written agreement or the Court says otherwise, where a child has more than one parent they share parenting time and decision-making responsibility, but this is not an equal-time schedule; best interests decide the actual allocation.

The Court may make a parenting order on application by a parent or person standing in a parent's place, for a definite or indefinite period or until a specified event. In deciding, the Court considers only the child's best interests. Which arrangement fits your family depends on the facts, so a lawyer can help you.