Tristan J. Miller

This is an appeal from a trial decision concerning parenting time and decision-making responsibility.

The appellant father sought to change the shared parenting arrangement, alleging parental alienation, and requested a 90-day "protective separation" for the children to reside solely with him.

The trial judge dismissed this request, finding the existing arrangement to be in the children's best interests, and awarded costs to the mother.

The father appealed the trial decision and the costs award, also seeking to adduce fresh evidence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upheld the trial judge's findings, declined to admit fresh evidence, and refused leave to appeal the costs award, emphasizing the narrow scope of appellate review in parenting disputes and the principle that post-trial events are typically addressed through variation procedures rather than appeal.

This judgment addresses the entitlement, quantum, and duration of spousal support, calculation of retroactive support, and child support following a divorce.

The court found the applicant wife entitled to non-compensatory spousal support due to income disparity, but not a strong compensatory claim.

Spousal support was set at the mid-range of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines and ordered to terminate on September 30, 2024, considering the applicant's re-partnering and efforts towards self-sufficiency.

Retroactive child and spousal support were fixed, with a tax adjustment applied to the lump-sum spousal support.

Despite the respondent husband being the more successful party on the merits, no costs were awarded due to his deliberate non-compliance with an interim support order.