The appeal concerned whether an Ontario court retained jurisdiction to vary a spousal support order made under the former Divorce Act when neither former spouse resided in Ontario and one former spouse did not attorn to jurisdiction.
The court held that the Divorce Act, 1985, including its transitional provisions, governed the variation application, and that the moving party had not commenced any variation proceeding before repeal of the former statute.
The court further held that s. 43(c) of the Interpretation Act did not preserve any acquired, accrued, or accruing right to seek variation because no steps had been taken before repeal to exercise that statutory entitlement.
As neither residency nor acceptance of jurisdiction under s. 5(1) was established, Ontario lacked jurisdiction and the variation application was dismissed.
