No loving parent should be restricted from their young child without a fair chance to be heard.

In British Columbia, if separated parents do not yet have a parenting order in place, one parent can unilaterally reduce or restrict the other parent’s time with the child — even completely — and there is no emergency legal process to restore meaningful contact unless the child is in physical danger.

This creates a legal gap with real emotional consequences. A parent may be left with little to no access to their infant or toddler — not because they are unfit or unsafe, but simply because the system offers no urgent remedy.

I am one of those parents.

After separating from my husband in early May, I found myself in a situation where all contact with my 15-month-old daughter was unilaterally controlled by the other parent. There was no abuse, no allegation of harm — only the absence of a court order. For weeks, I had no regular parenting time, no emergency process to request it, and no realistic way to be heard quickly by a judge.

I am doing everything I can through the courts now — but this delay has already caused distress, confusion, and loss of connection for both mother and child.

Can you imagine what this does to a baby? To a parent who loves them?

This legal silence must be addressed.

We ask the Government of British Columbia and all Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to amend the Family Law Act and create an urgent, accessible process to request interim parenting time even when there is no physical danger — because emotional harm and the breakdown of early parent–child bonds should not be legally invisible.

This is not about custody disputes. It’s about making sure that young children in BC are not denied a loving parent’s presence due to legal inaction.

Please sign and share. Together, we can call for a system that protects the emotional well-being of children and respects the rights of responsible, caring parents.