Canada Case Law

J.K.K. v. B.S.K.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court ordered court-directed re-integrative family counselling because it was necessary for the children's best interests and more likely to succeed with the respondent's proposed provider given his greater relevant experience and training; the court may require counselling despite the children's opposition where their views are not determinative of long-term best interests; parties must share counselling fees equally and each party bears their own legal costs of the counselling application while the respondent is awarded costs for the enforcement/variation application on the ordinary sca…

Source excerpt

• Parenting time
• Reunification counselling
• Parental alienation
• Enforcement and variation of parenting orders
• Costs

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McCluskey v Tobin

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Because the mother failed to provide full, credible financial disclosure and the evidence demonstrated self‑induced underemployment and available means (including sale proceeds), the court exercised its discretion under the Guidelines and Parenting and Support Act to impute the mother’s income at $80,000 effective January 1, 2024, and ordered reimbursement and cost awards under s.40 for reasonable and necessary travel, accommodation and reunification/counselling expenses incurred by the father to enforce parenting orders and to attempt reunification.

Source excerpt

• Relocation without consent
• Imputation of income
• Denial of parenting time
• Special and extraordinary expenses
• Cross‑jurisdictional enforcement
• Parental alienation

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Tay v. Passeri

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed a relocation application after the claimant abducted the child to Thailand, granted the respondent sole guardianship and parenting time, and awarded special costs.

• Relocation application
• Best interests of the child (divorce act s.16)
• Parental alienation
• Abuse of process
• Section 211 psychological report
• Retroactive child support

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T.H. v. J.H.

Court

Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal

The appeal is dismissed because the trial judge applied the correct legal framework (best interests of the children), properly relied on the Voice of the Child report, made no palpable misapprehension of the evidence when declining to find parental alienation, and rightly refused to resolve complex financial disentanglement on an interim record lacking full disclosure; constitutional challenges, a stay and additional evidence were out of scope for this interim appeal.

Source excerpt

• Parenting arrangements
• Decision-making authority
• Parental alienation
• Interim orders
• Child support
• Spousal support

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M.J.C. v. P.R.C.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed a recusal application in this family law proceeding, holding that dissatisfaction with interlocutory rulings and alleged bias did not meet the legal test.

• Recusal
• Apprehension of bias
• Parenting time
• Section 211 report
• Parental alienation
• Perjury allegations

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N.J.H. v. J.A.C.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court declined to compel the children to attend a specific counselling provider or forced contact with their father, while granting consent conduct orders and directing shared counselling costs.

• Parenting time
• Counselling orders
• Parental alienation
• Best interests of the child
• Fla s.61 counselling orders
• S.211 expert reports

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L.A.L.M. v. N.M.G.C.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court upheld a parenting coordinator’s school-selection determination, found it within authority and in the child’s best interests, and dismissed a broad disclosure request.

• Parenting coordinator determinations
• Best interests of the child
• Parental alienation
• Disclosure of third-party financial information
• Section 19 family law act review
• Parenting-coordinator-determination

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Stewart v. Richardson

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Summary trial allowed in this family law parenting dispute. The court varied parenting time to equal shared parenting, gave the respondent final decision-making authority, and adjourned financial issues.

• Parenting time review
• Variation of guardianship
• S.211 expert report
• Parenting coordinator
• Parental alienation
• Best interests of the child

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K.K. v. M.M.

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's substantive costs awards to the respondent, concluding the trial judge was entitled to find the appellant acted in extreme bad faith and to award full recovery costs; however the majority held the trial judge erred in permanently staying enforcement of the historical pre-trial costs orders under s.106 CJA and reinstated those prior costs orders, finding the stay power must be used only in truly exceptional circumstances and that interim costs orders are generally payable when made.

Source excerpt

• Costs awards
• Stay of execution
• Bad faith litigation
• Parental alienation
• Reasonable apprehension of bias
• S.106 courts of justice act

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Landry v. MacArthur

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Applicant failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that the respondent's medical and employment records are relevant to the pleaded issues; requests were speculative and amounted to a fishing expedition, employment records were moot, and privacy/proportionality considerations weigh against intrusive disclosure; school records need not be produced by respondent because she provided access and the court ordered the father may obtain records directly from third-party professionals.

Source excerpt

• Disclosure
• Parental alienation
• Medical records
• Employment records
• Educational records
• Best interests of the child

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