The parties separated after a 25-year marriage.
The respondent had retired from the armed forces and was receiving monthly pension payments.
The trial judge included the pension as a matrimonial asset and ordered the respondent to pay the appellant half of the future monthly payments.
The Court of Appeal reversed this, finding the pension was income, not a matrimonial asset.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that pensions are matrimonial assets subject to equal division under the Nova Scotia Matrimonial Property Act.
The Court found no operational conflict between the provincial property legislation and the federal Canadian Forces Superannuation Act's prohibition against alienation.
