Dr. Paul Mathew

The applicant father brought a Motion to Change seeking to eliminate child support arrears accumulated between August 2016 and August 2018, arguing he was unable to work due to severe wrist pain and subsequent surgeries.

The respondent mother argued he should have found comparable work.

The court found that while the father was technically intentionally underemployed, his underemployment was reasonably required by his health needs under section 19(1)(a) of the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

The court fixed the arrears at $0.00 but declined to order the mother to reimburse funds already collected by the Family Responsibility Office.

The applicant sought medical benefits for chiropractic and other services following a motor vehicle accident.

The insurer denied the treatment plans, arguing they were not reasonable and necessary.

The Licence Appeal Tribunal found that the applicant had not demonstrated significant improvement from previous similar treatments and that multiple assessors recommended a chronic pain program instead of continued passive, facility-based care.

The Tribunal concluded the treatment plans were not reasonable and necessary and dismissed the appeal.