Janet Claridge

The parties separated after a 10-year marriage.

The applicant mother sought to set aside a marriage contract signed days before the wedding, claiming she did not understand its nature or consequences.

The court agreed and set aside the contract, awarding the mother an equalization payment of $289,170.15 and spousal support of $3,636 per month for seven years.

On parenting, the court found the mother had engaged in parental alienation, severely damaging the father's relationship with the 16-year-old child.

The court ordered joint decision-making and mandatory reunification counselling, with costs of the counselling to be shared equally.

The moving party father brought a motion for interim primary residential care of the parties' three children, alleging that the responding party mother had alienated the children from him following a child protection intervention.

The mother and the Office of the Children's Lawyer opposed the motion, arguing that the children wished to remain with the mother and that a forced separation could be traumatic.

The court dismissed the father's motion, finding that the facts regarding the family's history and the allegations of alienation were highly contested and could not be resolved on a written record alone.

The court maintained the status quo of the mother having interim sole custody, ordered reunification counselling, and expedited the matter for trial.

The applicant mother sought the return of her child to the Czech Republic pursuant to the Hague Convention after the respondent father removed the child to Canada without her consent.

The father initially opposed the return, claiming the child's habitual residence was Canada and that the child objected to returning.

An independent assessment revealed the child wished to return to the Czech Republic.

The court found the child was habitually resident in the Czech Republic, the mother had custody rights, and the removal was wrongful.

The court ordered the immediate return of the child to the Czech Republic.