Case information

Human rights — Charter of rights — Fundamental justice — Right to be heard — Right to fair hearing — Evidence — Family law — Divorce — Separation — Husband seeking divorce order — Wife opposing divorce — Trial judge finding couple lived separate and apart for over one year prior to judgment, and granting divorce order — Court of Appeal dismissing wife’s appeal — Whether trial judge erred in finding parties had lived separate and apart for at least one year immediately preceding judgment, because finding was based on arbitrary alteration of wife’s testimony — Whether wife’s right to be heard and/or right to fair hearing violated because judge established finding of fact by altering wife’s testimony — Should divorce order be reversed because altered testimony was essential to finding of fact? — Code of Civil Procedure, CQLR, c. C-25.01, s. 17 — Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, CQLR, c. C-12.

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The respondent-husband sought a divorce after 35 years of marriage; the applicant-wife opposed the divorce. The trial judge granted a divorce order, finding that the parties had lived separate and apart for at least one year immediately preceding the judgment. The Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant-wife’s appeal from the divorce order.