[logicalvelocity]

from previous

In regards to your concerns

CAS was called in by paramedics when she was transported to hospital due to the condition of the home ( she has diabetes but often does not manage it very well and has a history of ending up in hospital, though she made great improvements once the son came to live with us and not her parents) CAS did a home visit and by that time the place was tidy so it wnet no further

It appears on the face of it that the CAS has opened and subsequently closed their file. It is somewhat irrelevent at this point in time.

when she was transported to hospital we were not made aware, and after repeated attempts to reach child at his home we found out that he was staying with a friend of the mothers

You should of been made aware of the circumstance when the event occurred. A friend of the mother's is no substitute for a biological parent.

after getting copies of his school records he has missed a ridiculous amount of school..averaging around 30 days absent each year he has resided with the mother..although we asked each term for report cards she kept 'forgetting' and would just tell us his marks over the phone

That is unacceptable. Secrecy festers over time. By default of the law regardless of what custody regime is in place, the law provides that BOTH parents are equally entitled to information bearing on the health, welfare and education of the child. If one parent is impeding or barring this information, their conduct does question their ability to parent the child effectively. 30 days absent from school is a significant amount of time to miss from school. If you factor in PD days and holidays, the child attends 4 out of 5 days a week.

- he has gotten in a lot of trouble at school for fighting, swearing, and even vandalizing the boys bathroom on one occasion
- she has a lot of trouble discipling the son, often calling us and asking advice, which she won't follow or won't follow through with

That is worthwhile to mention. It appears the child may have problems and one has to wonder what steps the other parent has taken to correct same.

- when she gets on the phone with father she starts screaming and yelling accusing him of just about everything, in the presence of the child and has also done this in public on a couple of occasions

That is unacceptable conduct and in my eyes is child abuse in itself. I elaborated further on this in your other post. Record these conversations and intrusive moments.

- when she does get angry and a visitation weekend is upcoming she tries to cancel it and then flips back and forth whether she'll 'let' it happen or not, which is a real pain because we live 400kms away. A long way to go to leave empty handed.

Start making all requests in writing to create a paper trail. If you show up after driving 400 KM's, and have it in writing without proper notice, at the very least you should get reimbursed your travel expenses incurred for such a trip. Moreover, by having everything in writing, documents the events as they occur. If this is happening regularly, it somewhat suggests that they may be vindictive.

She has clearly stated that it 'will never be over' and 'she will get everything she wants'.

They are having a difficult time to come up with 1500 retainer. It costs money to litigate and if one party is acting in bad faith, a court may order costs of unnecessary litigation.

Any advice on how we may want to proceed from this point on? Also we are pretty much unwilling to negotiate on most everything, we might be willing to tweak the visitation but its your standard splitting of major holidays and the rest to be determined by both parents at the beginning of each year. Father is completley unwilling to give on the spousal support..anything she gets will just be taken off her disability payments anyways so she won't be any further ahead financially.

If it was me I would Amend the pleadings to include a claim for sole custody and subsequently failing that joint custody parallel parenting. As in the authority I mentioned, Stefureak v. Chambers the ramifications of Kaplanis may have a significant impact on your stance.

It is somewhat surprising that you mentioned that they are receiving disability payments. If this is ODSP, by default they are automatically covered by legal aid, for legal representation. All income ordered would be deducted from the benefit received from ODSP. If an amount is given without an order, it is considered a gift and won't effect eligibility to continue receiving ODSP.

Are we able to 'fast track' this trial or are we going to have to go through some period of negotiations??

Certain steps have to occur before trial

documents are served and filed by both parties such as Application, Answer, Reply, and Financial Statements. A first case conference is held. Briefs are served and filed. Financial documents are served and filed. A Judge may issue procedural orders such as a request of the office of the children's lawyer involved in the matter, disclosure or may order how the case should proceed, subsequent case conference or motion etc. A settlement/ trail management conference may occur or matters may be somewhat settled by way of motion. It varies on the case and the issues.

lv