What Can You Do if the Other Parent Keeps Missing Parenting Time in BC?

You arrange your week around a parenting schedule, and the other parent does not show up, or cancels at the last minute. Your child waits at the door, and you are left to manage the disappointment and the scramble. When it happens again and again, it is natural to wonder what the law can do.

In British Columbia, the Family Law Act gives courts tools for exactly this pattern. This article explains those tools, how repeated no-shows can affect the other parent's rights, when the pattern might justify changing the order, and why you should be careful before simply refusing future visits.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

What the court can do about repeated missed parenting time

If a person repeatedly fails to exercise parenting time or contact that they are entitled to, the court can make orders under section 63 of the Family Law Act. These can include dispute resolution, counselling, reimbursement of expenses, and security or reporting requirements.

• Dispute resolution or counselling, aimed at getting the schedule working or understanding why it is not.
• Reimbursement of expenses you incurred because of the missed time.
• Security or reporting requirements, which put some accountability around the schedule.

The court can also require parties to take part in family dispute resolution, counselling or programs more generally. These orders are about getting the arrangement to work, not about punishing a parent. Which remedy fits depends on the facts, and a lawyer can help you judge that.

How repeated no-shows affect a later denial of time

A parent who is wrongfully denied parenting time can apply to the court within 12 months after the denial, and the court has remedies available. But the Act says a denial is not wrongful in certain situations.

• The person repeatedly failed to exercise their time without notice in the previous 12 months.
• The person cancelled without later notice.
• The child was ill and there is supporting medical documentation.
• You reasonably believed the child might suffer family violence, or the person was impaired.

The court may also find other sufficient justification. This does not give you a free pass to cancel visits. It means the history of missed time matters if the other parent later says you wrongly denied them. Because the court looks at the specific facts, treat any decision to withhold time with caution and get advice first.

When the pattern may justify changing the parenting order

A court can change, suspend or terminate a parenting order only if satisfied there has been a change in the needs or circumstances of the child since the order was made, including because of a change in another person's circumstances. A parent who has stopped showing up may be that kind of change, for example if your child now needs more stability or has settled into a different routine. Whether it qualifies depends on the facts.

Whatever you ask for, the court decides on the child's best interests only. It looks at the child's needs and circumstances, including health, the child's views, relationships, care history and stability. An arrangement is not in the child's best interests unless it protects, to the greatest extent possible, the child's physical, psychological and emotional safety, security and well-being.

The other parent's conduct counts only if it substantially affects one of those factors. So the focus is on what the missed time does to your child, not on assigning blame.

Which court process and which law applies

In Provincial Court, an application to change an order under the Family Law Act is made on Form 3 (Application About a Family Law Matter), with Schedule 2 for parenting, and a copy of the order or agreement is attached.

If you and the other parent agree on a new schedule, a written agreement can be incorporated into an order by the court. Any agreement about parenting is valid only to the extent it serves the child's best interests. Supreme Court procedure differs, so ask a lawyer which route suits your case.

What to do next

• Keep a written record of every missed or cancelled visit: date, time, how much notice you got, and what you were told.
• Save texts, emails and messages that show cancellations or no-shows.
• Note the effect on your child, such as distress, missed activities or changes in routine.
• Do not simply refuse future visits. Keep offering the scheduled time unless there is a real safety concern, and get advice first.
• Look at whether your order was made under the Family Law Act or the Divorce Act, since that decides how it is changed.
• Consider talking with a lawyer about whether to ask for a remedy, a change to the order, or both.

Frequently asked questions