Jeremy Morley

The applicant mother sought the return of her five-year-old daughter to China, alleging the respondent father wrongfully retained the child in Ontario after a visit.

The father argued the child's habitual residence was Ontario, or alternatively, that returning the child to China would cause serious harm.

Applying the hybrid approach, the court determined the child's habitual residence remained China.

The court found the father failed to establish that the child would suffer serious harm if returned.

The court declined to assume jurisdiction and ordered the immediate return of the child to China.

The applicant sought child support, retroactive spousal support, and supervised parenting time.

The central issue was determining the respondent's income, which the applicant alleged was hidden in a complex web of international corporations, including one fraudulently transferred to her name.

The court found the respondent was the beneficial owner of the corporations, imputed his income at approximately $7 million annually, and ordered $20,000 per month in both child and spousal support.

The court also ordered supervised parenting time due to the respondent's history of deceit and the risk of child abduction to India or the UAE, which are not signatories to the Hague Convention.

The respondent mother brought a motion to strike the applicant father's pleadings or suspend the trial due to his failure to comply with a temporary order requiring him to pay child support, spousal support, and interim disbursements.

The father, who resides in Egypt, had accumulated over $58,000 in arrears and made no payments.

The court found the father's non-compliance to be willful and deliberate, noting he had been imputed an income of $250,000.

The court ordered the trial adjourned until the father demonstrates substantial compliance with the temporary order, and directed the Office of the Children's Lawyer to provide an updated Voice of the Child Report regarding access.