Court File and Parties

COURT FILE NO.: FC-23-2008-1 DATE: 2024/11/29 ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

BETWEEN:

SHAAKIRA O. RAHEEM Applicant – and – JIBRIL YAHUZA Respondent

Counsel: Self-represented, for the Applicant Self-represented, for the Respondent

HEARD: In writing

Reasons for Decision

Audet J.

[1] This is an application brought by the Applicant mother for a new child support order pursuant to ss. 9 and 16 of the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act, 2002, c. 13 (“the ISO Act”).

[2] In her application filed on May 16, 2022, in Maryland, United States, but only received in Ontario in March 2024, the mother seeks child support for the parties’ child, Abdul-Shakur Wumpinin Yahuza, who is 8 years old, retroactive to April 1, 2022.

[3] The parties were married on November 3, 2014, in Maryland. They separated in 2018 and they were divorced on September 21, 2018. An amended Judgment of Absolute Divorce was signed by the Maryland Court on June 4, 2019. The divorce order grants the mother primary physical custody and sole legal custody of the parties’ child, with access to the father. It does not deal with child support, and there is no prior child support order in place for this child to the best of my knowledge.

[4] On April 16, 2024, the father disputed the mother's Application. In his Answer filed in the context of this proceeding, the father alleges that the mother has made false statements in her application and that she is currently residing in Ghana with the child, not in the United States. Additionally, he states that he made child support payments to the mother over the years which should be set-off against any arrears.

[5] The information provided by the father to assess his child support obligations back to April 2022 was incomplete and insufficient. As a result, on May 2, the parties appeared before me virtually for an initial case conference. During that conference, I explained to the parties the basic principles of child support, as those obligations are determined in Ontario, and provided them with guidance on what the Court needed to determine this issue.

[6] Thereafter, I made the following temporary order:

1. Beginning on May 1, 2024, and until further order of the court, the respondent father will pay child support to the applicant mother in the amount of $800 CAN per month, based on his estimated income of $86,000 per year.
2. The father will have an additional 30 days within which to provide an additional affidavit providing more evidence of the payments he states he made to the mother in lieu of child support since April 2022, proof of his current family situation (marital status, children, obligation to pay child support for other children, etc.), as well as an updated and duly completed sworn financial statement. The father is also required to file a complete copy of his 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 Income Tax Returns, with schedules and attachments.
3. Once these have been filed with this Court, a complete copy of the father’s responding materials (including what has already been filed) will be sent to the mother via email by the Court Counter staff.
4. The mother will have 30 days from that date to file a reply affidavit in which she will address the evidence provided by the father in his responding materials.
5. Once this is completed, the matter shall be scheduled for another hearing before me, at which time I will make a final order. The hearing will be conducted virtually and will be set down for one hour.

[7] In June 2024, the father filed documents with the Court in response to my directions for further information. After some delays which were not the responsibility of either party, the documents were forwarded to the mother for her consideration and response. On November 12, the mother sent an email to the Family Court counter in which she provided a response to the father’s additional evidence. The mother was advised by the Court counter staff that her response was unsworn and not in an admissible form, and she was invited to submit her response in the form of a sworn affidavit. She then advised the court counter staff that she was looking forward to wrapping this up and that the Court could render its decision based on the materials previously filed.

[8] This was particularly important since the father alleged on the day he appeared before the Court that he was only earning $13,000 per year, despite being the owner of a $605,000 home (with a $500,000 mortgage), having $17,000 in his bank account, and reporting $6,000 of net monthly expenses in his financial statement.

[9] The father’s 2022 Notice of Assessment reveals a total annual income of $86,124, and his 2023 Notice of Assessment confirms a total annual income of $88,890. In his sworn financial statement, he indicates that he anticipates earning $69,000 this year (2024). Although the father did not provide an explanation as to why his income in 2024 will be less than in the two previous years, he has provided pay stubs which tend to support his estimated income for that year. Also, I note that the father’s income in 2021 was $68,315 and in 2020 it was $62,767. I am therefore prepared, based on that evidence, to set child support based on an estimated 2024 income of $69,000.

[10] Based on the above, I make the following final order:

1. Beginning on April 1, 2022 to and including December 1, 2022, the respondent father shall pay child support to the applicant mother in the amount of $800 CAN per month, based on his 2022 income of $86,000 per year.
2. Beginning on January 1, 2023 to and including December 1, 2023, the respondent father shall pay child support to the applicant mother in the amount of $825 CAN per month, based on his 2023 income of $88,890 per year.
3. Beginning on January 1, 2024, and every month thereafter until further order of the Court, the respondent father shall pay child support to the applicant mother in the amount of $644 based on his estimated total income of $69,000.
4. Between April 1, 2022 to and including May 15, 2024, the father has paid a total of $6,168 CAN in child support to the mother, which shall be set-off from the arrears owing by him pursuant to paras. 1 to 3 above.
5. To the extent that the father has access to health or medical insurance coverage through his employment, he shall maintain the child as his beneficiary thereof and take all necessary steps to insure prompt reimbursement to the mother for health and dental expenses incurred by her.

Madam Justice Julie Audet Released: November 29, 2024