Relocation — Canada — welfare and best interests of child — Care of Children Act 2004, ss 4, 5, 6 & 16 — Kacem v Bashir [2010] NZSC 112, [2011] 2 NZLR 1 — Malcolm v Lloyd [2015] NZHC 1483. The applicant mother sought to relocate with the parties' child to Canada. The child had been born there and the respondent father had moved there around two years before. The father opposed the mother's relocation application as she sought to relocate to a different city in Canada than the one he lived in. He submitted that the child should move to his location or remain in New Zealand. The Judge did not have jurisdiction to determine whether the child should move to the father's location, the issue was whether the mother's relocation application could be granted or whether the child must remain in New Zealand. The Judge noted the father's reasoning was illogical, as he would be able to have more contact with the child if she was in Canada, regardless of what city she lived in, than if she lived in New Zealand (over 14 hours away on a plane). Downsides of the relocation would be the disruption to the child's schooling and New Zealand friendships and that her paternal grandparents lived in New Zealand. However, benefits were better relationships with maternal family, access to her French culture and heritage, more contact with her father and his family and education opportunities. On balance, the Judge found it was in the child's welfare and best interests to grant the relocation application. Judgment Date: 19 July 2019. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *