Family law (Ontario) legislation. In relation to custody or access, the child is always a minor (under eighteen: or sixteen for the purposes of the Hague Convention) and has a “habitual residence” (defined in the Children’s Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990,C.12).
A minor’s residence is dependent on the parents’ or parent’s and therefore upon separation, if the parents are geographically apart, the change may affect the child’s “habitual residence.”
A unilateral change of residence by one parent, without the other’s consent, is not effective.
The child’s “habitual residence” normally arises in two ways: as an initial issue of jurisdiction, if the court in Ontario is to take cognizance of custody or access proceedings, in which case the question turns on the child’s “habitual residence”; alternatively, if the child is removed from Ontario and the Hague Convention is invoked, the “habitual residence” again will be determined according to the child’s last (habitual) residence.