Jennifer A. O’Reilly

The father brought a motion to change seeking retroactive child support based on the mother's increased income.

The mother opposed and sought to impute a higher income to the father, arguing he used his business to pay personal expenses and deliberately underpaid himself.

The court found the father had unreported income and personal expenses paid through his business.

The court imputed the father's income at $125,000 per year for 2019-2021, resulting in the father owing the mother retroactive child support arrears.

The court also ordered the parties to share section 7 childcare expenses equally.

Following a trial where the applicant's request for sole custody and relocation was dismissed, the successful respondent sought costs of $15,000.

The applicant argued that no costs should be awarded given the nature of the family law dispute.

The court applied the presumption under Rule 24(1) of the Family Law Rules that a successful party is entitled to costs, noting the respondent's offer to settle matched the trial outcome.

The applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs fixed at $15,000.

The applicant mother sought sole custody and permission to relocate with the parties' six-year-old child from Brockville, Ontario to Jasper, Alberta.

The respondent father opposed the move and sought joint custody with the child remaining in Brockville.

The court applied a blended approach to the custody and mobility issues, considering the proposed relocation as part of the best interests analysis.

Finding that the child had a strong bond with both parents and the paternal extended family in Brockville, and that the mother's employment and housing plans in Alberta were uncertain, the court concluded the child stood to lose more from the move than she would gain.

The application to relocate was dismissed, and joint custody was ordered with shared parenting if the mother remained in Brockville.