The appellant husband appealed a variation of a spousal support order that reduced his monthly payments from $800 to $680 but included an automatic annual increase based on his income.
The Court of Appeal panel first determined that under the Courts of Justice Act, jurisdiction to hear the appeal lay with the Divisional Court because the periodic payments amounted to less than $25,000 annually.
Reconstituted as a Divisional Court panel, the court upheld the reduction in support but set aside the automatic annual increase, finding the application judge had no jurisdiction under the Divorce Act to make such an order.
