In this regard, the use of the extended-family “team approach” to parenting must align with the directive under s. 16(10) of the Divorce Act and the maximum contact principle. Again, s. 16(10) requires the court to “give effect to the principle that a child of the marriage should have as much contact with each spouse as is consistent with the best interests of the child.” Consistent with the Divorce Act’s directive is the “opportunity and obligation” dictum of Olah J. in Celotti v. Celotti, at para. 30, expressed in the context of access by a non-principal residence parent, that access or parenting time is the “period of time wherein the non-principal residence parent has the opportunity and obligation to parent the children.” In the same vein that no one was ever bestowed with a right without at the same time being saddled with a responsibility, the parent must appreciate that the opportunity to have access with the children must also carry with it the responsibility or obligation to parent the child.
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