Janice Mucalov, LL.B.
Contributing Columnist

THESE days many
fathers take an active
interest in raising their
children, even after
their marriage breaks
down. They don’t
want to be just part-
time caregivers.

Shared custody can be
appropriate if two tests are
met. First, is it in the child's
best interests, i.¢., will the
child benefit from ongoing
contact with both parents?
And second, do the parents
cooperate sufficiently to
make a shared custody
arrangement workable?

There is no precise defin-
ition of “joint custody.”
Many differcat arrangements
are possible.

For example, when
Marnie and Gary Speck
quarrelled over the custody
of their seven-year-old son,
Cole, the court ordered this
joint custody arrangement:
The first week, Cole would
five with his mother Monday
to Thursday and with his
father Friday to Sunday. The
second week, he'd live with
his mother Tuesday to
Thursday and with his father

Friday to Monday. An
important factor was that
the family lived close to each
other in a small town, Alert
Bay.

A different arrangement
was ordered for Judy and
Joseph Simon, who lived in
Courtenay with their seven-
year-old son, Cody. She was
an ambulance attendant and
camp cook who worked out
of town during the summer
logging season. After they
separated, Cody lived with
his mother, but stayed with
his father whenever Judy was
away.

A year after they separat-
ed, however, Joseph moved
in with another woman, and
tensions began tu mount
between Judy and Joseph.

The judge said that
where both parents provide
loving care for their child,
who is happy with both par-
ents, and the parents have

Low level bike route
slowly lengthens

NORTH Vancouver
City. will receive
$7,622 from the
province’s cycling net-
work program.

This year’s BC
Transportation _— Financing
Authority grant will go

toward a project to build a
separated path along Cotton
Road from Gladstone Avenue
to Kennard Avenue. North
Vancouver will match the
funding.

The work will improve
connections to businesses,
commercial areas and
Capilano College.

-. The BC Transportation
Financing Authority’s cycling
network program shares the
cost of cycling projects 50-50
with local governments. To be

eligible for funding under the’

rogram, proposed projects
Piet be part of a local bicycle
network plan prepared and
adopted by local government.

The. provincial govern-
ment established the cycling
network program in 1995.

Since then, it has provided.
nearly $11 million for 199 -

community cycling projects.
This year, the province is
investing more than $1.7 mil-
lion in 44 cycling projects in
27 communities throughout
British Columbia.
Including this grant, the

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province has invested
$292,315 in North
Vancouver's cycling network.

previously cooperated, they
only need a “nudge from
the court” to come to an
arrangement which will be
bese for the child.

He ordered both parents
to have joint care and con-
trol over Cody, ic. to have
joint responsibility for
schooling, medical care, ete.
But Cody would live with
his mother during the week
and his father on alternating
weekends. During the sum-
mer, he'd live three weeks
with his mother and three
weeks with his father, and
hed spend alternate
Christmas and spring break
vacations with each parent.

Bruce and Karen
McCowan, who lived a few
minutes apart in New

Yesuminster, had yet a dif-
fesene order. Their twin boys
lived with Bruce about 43%
of the time, according to his
work schedule with the
RCMP. The court increased
this time by one more day a
month.

The court also ordered
that all holidays were to bz
shared. One parent would
have the twins Christmas
Eve until 2 p.m. on
Christmas Day, at which
time the other parent would
have them until 7 p.m. on
Boxing Day. On birthdays,
the parent whese home they
were not living in that day
could see er have them for
three hours between 4 p.m.
and 8 p.m.

“The children should

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Sunday, May 7, 2000 ~ North Shore News - 21

| Amicable joint custody benefits children

have memories of shared
special days,” said the judge.
“Te will be healthier for
them if these days do nor
emphasize 3 divided life by
being defined in retrospect
as separate.”

Certainly, if you and your
partner can work out an
amicable joint custody
arrangement with the help
of your lawyer, your children

in-line

will reap the benefits of your
mutual love and care.

This column has been
written with the assistance of
Darvl Collier of the North
Vaneonver law firm of
Rareliff & Company, Suite
500, 221 Wese Esplanade,
988-5201. The column pro-
vides information only and
must not be relied on for legal
advice.

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