The respondent father brought an urgent motion for exclusive possession of the matrimonial home, arguing that the parties' three children, who were in his de facto care, were living in cramped conditions in his one-bedroom basement apartment while the applicant mother resided alone in the four-bedroom home.
The motion was deemed urgent due to the children's living situation, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a recent suicide attempt by one of the children.
The court granted the father exclusive possession, prioritizing the children's best interests, and ordered the father to make periodic payments to the mother to assist with alternative accommodation.
The decision also included a strong admonition against rhetorical excess and irrelevant personal attacks in family law litigation.
