How Domestic Violence Affects Parenting Time and Custody in Manitoba

If you have experienced abuse from a partner or former partner, you may be worried about two things at once: your safety now, and what a court will do about the children later. Those questions are connected, but they are handled through different steps.

This article explains the Manitoba tools that deal directly with safety, how urgent family issues reach the court, and what stays in the hands of a judge or a negotiated agreement. How family violence is weighed in a particular parenting decision depends on the facts, and a lawyer can explain how it applies to you.

This article covers the law of Manitoba.

Safety and parenting are separate questions

A parenting dispute is about the arrangements for your children: where they live, how time is shared and who makes major decisions. Safety measures, such as a protection order, are about stopping contact or violence.

How violence is taken into account when parenting time, decision-making or the handing over of children is decided depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer. A lawyer can tell you how that is likely to apply in your situation.

Protection orders under The Domestic Violence and Stalking Act

A protection order is a quick, separate route to safety. The application may be made without notice to a designated justice of the peace. You may apply in person, or a lawyer, peace officer or person designated by the minister may apply with your consent.

The Act covers people who live or have lived together in a spousal, conjugal or intimate relationship, people in a family relationship, people who have or had a dating relationship, and parents of the same child. The justice must be satisfied of several things:

• The other person is committing or has committed domestic violence or stalking against you.
• You believe it will continue or resume.
• You need protection because that is reasonably likely.
• Because of the seriousness or urgency, the order should be made without delay.

The justice must also consider risk factors such as history of abuse, escalation, coercive control and access to firearms.

What a protection order can do and how long it lasts

Once filed in court, a protection order is an order of the court. Because a protection order may include no-contact terms, it can affect how contact with the other parent works in practice. If you have children together, ask a lawyer how the order and any parenting arrangements fit together, so that you are not caught between them.

Getting urgent parenting issues before a judge

Ongoing parenting and property issues go through the Court of King's Bench, Family Division. The usual steps include filing your documents, serving the other party, completing prerequisites such as the For the Sake of the Children Program, requesting triage, and attending a triage conference, with a case conference within 30 days.

Urgent issues can be prioritized for a hearing within 30 days. The triage model does not apply to child protection, adoption, consent orders, and uncontested divorce or separation, which follow different processes. Court practice changes, so confirm current forms and procedures with the court or a lawyer.

Support payments without direct contact

If child or spousal support is ordered, the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) can receive and monitor payments and act on arrears, so you do not have to chase the other person yourself. MEP will not give you the other party's personal information, such as addresses, phone numbers or employment details, and it does not enforce parenting or contact terms or property division.

Enrolling in MEP is optional unless you receive social assistance and assigned payments to it.

What to do next

• If you are in immediate danger, contact police or emergency services first.
• Write down incidents with dates, places, witnesses and any injuries, and keep messages, photos and medical or police records.
• Ask a lawyer whether a protection order, an urgent court application or both make sense for you.
• Do not rely on informal promises about parenting time. Ask about a written agreement or court order.
• Tell your lawyer about any existing protection order, court order or agreement before you negotiate.

Frequently asked questions