Whether we're talking about ''parental responsibilities'', the term used by the ''Family Law Act'', or ''decision-making responsibilities'', the term used by the ''Divorce Act'', we're talking about how parents make important decisions about their children. Just like parenting schedules, there are a lot of different ways that parental responsibilities can be shared by parents:
#*both parents could share all parental responsibilities, which will require them to talk to each other when bigger decisions about the kids need to be made,#*one parent could have all parental responsibilities, which will allow that parent to make decisions about the kids without having to consult the other parent,#*both parents could share all parental responsibilities, but one of them will have the final say in case the parents don't agree about a decision, or#*parental responsibilities could be divided between parents, so that each parent has the final say about decisions relating to one of their responsibilities in case the parents don't agree about the decision, or#*parental responsibilities could be divided between parents, so that neither parent has to consult the other about decisions relating to one of their responsibilities.
Neither the ''Family Law Act'' nor the ''Divorce Act'' say that all parental responsibilities have to be shared equally by both parents or distributed in some other way. While both parents usually wind up sharing all parental responsibilities, remember what section 40(4) of the ''Family Law Act'' says: