BACKGROUND The parties were married in 2003 and separated in 2008. The father was Peruvian and the mother was Canadian. They had one child, a daughter aged 6. Both prior to and post-separation, the mother alleged violence by the father, which was witnessed by the child on two occasions. Upon separation, the parties commenced litigation [...]

In the case Hazelwood v. Hazelwood, the mother appealed to the Superior Court of Justice from an order made in the Ontario Court of Justice where she was ordered to return the children of the marriage to Timmins, Ontario, or else turn them over to the care of their father. Background The parties married in [...]

This case involves an appeal by a father of an order granting the mother custody of the parties’ children. On appeal, the father claimed that the trial judge should have considered whether it was in the best interests of the children to order homogenous French language education for the children as a condition of awarding [...]

When deciding to proceed by way of the courts, it is important for individuals to recognize that compliance with court orders is not a matter of choice. Whether one likes the court’s judgment or not, strict compliance will be expected. The case of Peers v. Poupore is a great example of the fact that there [...]

This case considers a question frequently faced by parents in custody arrangements:  “Can I make the unilateral decision to move the child away from the other parent?” BACKGROUND The parties are the parents of a three year old child, and had separated in June 2011 after living together for two years. Upon separation, the child [...]

This case involves an appeal by parents of a child that was made a Crown ward. BACKGROUND In March 2007, the child in this case was referred to the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Unit of the Hospital for Sick Children due to concern that she might be suffering from rickets. The Children’s Aid Society [...]

This case is a perfect illustration of the dangers of representing yourself in your matrimonial matter. It is also a message to all lawyers who know that if they are getting a deal that looks too good to be true for their client – that it probably is. In the case at hand, the parties [...]

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice made a surprising rendering in its recent decision in Trisolino v. De Marzi. Specifically, the court permitted a mother to move her children to Rome, in spite of the father’s vehement protests to the contrary. So what factors motivated the Court to make this decision? BACKGROUND The parties met [...]

The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Dovigi v. Razi commented both on the court’s exercise of its parens patriae jurisdiction and the appropriate course of action for a court asked to rule on custody and access where the child in question is not “habitually resident” in Ontario, as required by s. 22 of [...]

In the May 2012 case of S (G.E.) v. C. (F.), Justice Walsh of the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench dealt with, among other issues, the unclear threshold of Section 9 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines as created by the courts. For the purposes of the case at bar, we will only analyze [...]