“At the outset of the motion, the applicant’s counsel properly raised a concern about the respondent’s affidavit and disclosure of his settlement offer. The respondent’s explanation confirmed the disclosure was intentional. I ruled that the settlement communication was improperly before the court, that I would ignore it, and no further reference should be made to it during submissions. Rule 18(8) of the Family Law Rules is clear. Offers are confidential and the terms of an offer shall not be mentioned in any document filed in the Continuing Record and shall not be mentioned to the judge hearing the claim dealt with in the offer, until the judge has dealt with all the issues in dispute except costs. I also note the common law and following statement by the Supreme Court of Canada in Union Carbide Canada Inc. v. Bombardier Inc., 2014 SCC 35 (CanLII), [2014] 1 S.C.R. 800, [2014] S.C.J. No. 35, at para. 31:
Settlement privilege is a common law rule of evidence that protects communications exchanged by parties as they try to settle a dispute. Sometimes called the “without prejudice” rule, it enables parties to participate in settlement negotiations without fear that information they disclose will be used against them in the litigation. This promotes honest and frank discussions between the parties, which can make it easier to reach a settlement.”