Decision-Making Responsibility vs Custody in Ontario: What Changed Under the CLRA
The Terminology Shifted on March 1, 2021
If you have been searching for "grandparent custody rights Ontario," many results published before March 2021 use terms that are no longer the current vocabulary for new applications. The Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act, 2020 rewrote the vocabulary of Ontario family law, replacing the old property-oriented concepts of "custody" and "access" with three child-centred terms under the Children's Law Reform Act (CLRA).
The change was not cosmetic. The new framework shifts the focus from who owns rights over a child to what decisions need to be made for the child's wellbeing.
The Three New Terms
Decision-making responsibility (section 18(1) CLRA) is the authority to make major decisions about a child's health, education, culture, language, religion, and spirituality. This is what "sole custody" or "legal custody" used to cover. Under section 20(2), a person with decision-making responsibility has the rights and responsibilities of a parent regarding the child's care and upbringing.
Parenting time is the period when a child is in the care of a parent under a court order. During parenting time, that parent makes routine day-to-day decisions (section 28(6)). This replaces "access" for parents.
Contact (section 18(1)) is time a child spends with a non-parent — a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or family friend. A contact order gives you scheduled time with the child without decision-making authority. This is the non-parent equivalent of what used to be called "access" or "visitation."
What This Means for Grandparents
The old system created confusion about what "custody" actually granted. A grandparent with "custody" might not have had clear authority over medical decisions. A grandparent with "access" had visitation rights but no say in the child's schooling or healthcare.
The new framework is more precise:
| What you need | Old term | New CLRA term | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authority over major decisions (school, doctors, religion) | Sole custody | Decision-making responsibility | Authority for the major decisions covered by the order |
| Regular time with the child | Access | Contact order (for non-parents) | Scheduled care time without decision-making responsibility |
| Both decision authority and primary care | Full custody | Decision-making responsibility + primary residence | Major decisions plus the child lives with you |
For most grandparents and relatives raising a child full-time, decision-making responsibility is what you need for major decisions. The order's terms set out the authority it grants; routine decisions during parenting time are addressed separately under section 28(6).
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Standing Has Not Changed
The good news: section 21 of the CLRA gives grandparents and other non-parents the same statutory standing they had before the terminology change. Under section 21(2), any non-parent — explicitly including grandparents and extended family — can apply directly to court for an order allocating decision-making responsibility. No prior judicial permission is required to file.
For a contact order (scheduled time without decision-making authority), section 21(3) provides separate standing.
The threshold for filing has not changed. What changed is the language the court uses to describe what it grants.
Why the Old Terms Still Appear in Searches
Court orders made before March 2021 that use "custody" and "access" remain valid and enforceable. If a grandparent obtained a custody order in 2019, that order still stands. The new terminology applies to new applications and variations filed after the change.
This creates a transition period where:
- Existing orders use old terms but remain legally binding
- New applications must use the new terms
- Online resources may use either set of terms depending on when they were written
- Police, schools, and other institutions may still ask about "custody" because the public vocabulary has not caught up
When dealing with institutions that ask whether you have "custody," a decision-making responsibility order can establish authority for the decisions it covers. An institution may require a certified copy and specific order wording. Section 20(2) gives a person with decision-making responsibility the rights and responsibilities of a parent regarding the child's care and upbringing.
Filing Under the New Framework
The application process uses the same forms — Form 8 (Application) and Form 35.1 (Affidavit) — updated to reflect the new terminology. Form 35.1 was structurally revised on March 1, 2021, under O. Reg. 42/21. If you downloaded blank forms before that date, you need the current versions from the Ontario Court Forms portal.
The mandatory requirements have not changed: police record check within 60 days, CAS records search, Form 35.1 Part B for non-parents, and the Mandatory Information Program.
The Ontario decision-making order toolkit uses the current CLRA terminology throughout and includes tracking worksheets calibrated to the post-2021 filing requirements.
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