K. Hagman

The father brought a motion seeking an order requiring the mother to pay her proportionate share of their son's AAA hockey registration costs for the 2022-2023 season.

The mother conceded that AA hockey expenses for their other son were extraordinary expenses but argued that AAA hockey expenses were not.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the father had covered the AAA expenses for the past six years, indicating he could reasonably afford them without contribution from the mother, and thus failed to meet the test under section 7(1)(f) of the Federal Child Support Guidelines.

Following a successful summary judgment motion dismissing the plaintiff's claim, the defendants sought full indemnity costs of $84,327.60.

The court found that while the claim was not explicitly vexatious, the lack of evidence to support the plaintiff's position warranted an award of substantial indemnity costs to express the court's disapproval.

Applying the principle of reasonableness, the court reduced the requested amount and fixed costs at $40,000 inclusive of HST and disbursements.