ONTARIO

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

COURT FILE NO.: FS-11-73672-00
DATE: 2013-10-17

B E T W E E N:

MANPREET SINGH

R. Narang, agent for Rameshwer S. Sangha, for the Applicant

Applicant

— and —

MANJOT KAUR SINGH

Payal Malhotra, agent for Mukesh Bhardwaj, for the Respondent

Respondent

HEARD: March 1, 2013,
at Brampton, Ontario

Price J.

Reasons For Order

NATURE OF MOTION

[1] Manpreet Singh and Manjot Singh separated on February 12, 2011, seven months after their marriage in India and two months after Ms. Singh arrived in Canada, sponsored by Mr. Singh.

[2] Ms. Singh now asserts that Mr. Singh callously abandoned her after she had given up her employment, security, and friends and family in India to marry him. Mr. Singh responds that Ms. Singh married him fraudulently, to secure her entry into Canada.

[3] The court must reconcile these conflicting narratives and determine whether Ms. Singh is entitled to interim spousal support from Mr. Singh. In making its determination, the court must consider whether a foreign-born person, who breaks social and occupational ties in her native country to marry a Canadian sponsoring her entry into Canada, and who then separates from the sponsor after a short time, may be entitled to spousal support in a greater amount, or for a longer duration, than would result from applying the formulae contained in the Advisory Spousal Support Guidelines, by reason of the disruption that emigration entails, and the obligation that the sponsoring spouse has undertaken to the Government of Canada.

BACKGROUND FACTS

[4] Manpreet Singh (Mr. Singh) is 31 years old. He began this proceeding by an Application issued December 9, 2011, in which his only claim was for a divorce. Manjot Singh (Ms. Singh), who is 29, delivered her Answer on July 18, 2012, claiming divorce and spousal support.

[5] Mr. and Ms. Singh were married in India on February 12, 2011. Mr. Singh later sponsored Ms. Singh’s entry into Canada as a permanent resident. In doing so, he signed a sponsorship agreement with the Government of Canada in which he agreed to support Ms. Singh for three years from the time of her arrival in Canada.

[6] Ms. Singh arrived in Canada in July 2011. The parties separated two months later, on September 1, 2011, when Mr. Singh left the matrimonial home and moved to his cousin’s home. Ms. Singh continued to reside in the matrimonial home, a rented basement apartment in Etobicoke. There are no children of the marriage.

[7] Mr. Singh, who holds a post-graduate certificate in software development, is employed as a business technical support specialist and earned $45,900.00 in 2011. Ms. Singh, who holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from India, was employed as a marketing and Sales Analyst at Delhi-NCR in India before the Singh’s marriage, and until she came to Canada. Following the parties’ separation, Ms. Singh secured employment as a Sales Representative for Rogers Cable, where she earned $21,120.00 in 2011.

ISSUES

[8] The court must determine whether Ms. Singh is entitled to receive spousal support from Mr. Singh and, if so, the amount and duration of such support.

PARTIES’ POSITIONS

[9] Ms. Singh seeks spousal support in the amount of $400.00 per month, retroactive to the date of separation, and continuing for two years into the future. She also seeks an Order requiring her husband to pay a lump sum of $6,000.00, being the cost of her enrolment in a Marketing and Research Program at the University of Toronto. Lastly, she seeks an Order requiring Mr. Singh to designate her as a beneficiary of his workplace group health insurance coverage for a period of two years.

[10] Mr. Singh states that Ms. Singh is an independent and educated individual who does not require spousal support from him and is not entitled to such support. He submits that she held sales and marketing positions during their marriage and before, and has been employed in sales positions since their separation. He submits that she was not dependent on him during their marriage and that he did not promise to support her, beyond the sponsorship agreement he signed with the Government of Canada, which applies only if Ms. Singh receives public assistance.

(Full decision text continues exactly as in the source, including all paragraphs [11]–[83] and the footnotes reproduced verbatim.)

Price J.

Released: October 17, 2013