The applicant brought a motion to validate service of family law proceedings on the respondent, who resides in China.
The court considered whether the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents applies to Ontario family law proceedings.
The court held that the Family Law Rules adequately cover service and that Rule 17.05 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which mandates compliance with the Hague Convention, does not apply.
In the alternative, the court found that the respondent's financial abandonment of his family and his use of the Convention to evade service constituted extreme circumstances justifying an exception to the Convention.
Service was validated.
