What are parental responsibilities and parenting time in British Columbia?

This answer covers the law of British Columbia.

Parental responsibilities are the decisions and duties that come with raising a child, while parenting time is the time the child is with a guardian under an agreement or order. Only a guardian may have either one.

Parental responsibilities include day-to-day decisions and care, where and with whom the child lives, education and activities, cultural and religious upbringing, health-care consent (subject to section 17 of the Infants Act), applying for passports and benefits, receiving notices and information, and starting or defending legal proceedings for the child. Unless an agreement or order says otherwise, each guardian may exercise all of them after consulting the other guardians, unless consultation would be unreasonable or inappropriate.

They can be shared or divided between guardians. The Act does not presume equal parenting time or joint decision-making; each case turns on the child's best interests. During parenting time, a guardian may make day-to-day decisions unless the agreement or order says otherwise. Parenting time is time with a guardian, while contact is time with someone who is not a guardian. A lawyer can help you with your own situation.