“There is no dispute about the law of civil contempt, which is comprehensively set out by Justice Chappel in Jackson v. Jackson, 2016 ONSC 3466. For a summary I adopt the following comments by Justice Charney in Kokaliaris v. Palantza, 2016 ONSC 198 (paragraphs 24 to 26 combined, citations omitted):
Contempt is a serious remedy and is not to be granted lightly. It is a quasi-criminal proceeding and subject to the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. … [T]he civil contempt remedy is one of last resort and that great caution must be exercised when considering contempt motions in family law proceedings. Contempt remedies should not be sought or granted in family law cases where other adequate remedies are available to the allegedly aggrieved party. Any doubt must be exercised in favour of the person alleged to be in breach of the order. … [T]o make a finding of contempt, the court must be satisfied as to three elements of the alleged contempt: (a) the order must be clear and not subject to different interpretations; (b) the acts [or failures to act] stated to constitute the contempt must be wilful [also referred to as “intentional” or “deliberate” in the caselaw] rather than accidental; and, (c) the events of contempt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Unless the motion for contempt satisfies all three parts of the test, the motion for contempt must be dismissed. Notwithstanding the court’s reluctance to exercise it[s] contempt powers, it is important that such powers be exercised in appropriate cases to ensure that parties in family law proceedings understand that court orders cannot be ignored or disobeyed, and that compliance with a court order is neither an option nor a bargaining chip.
It goes without saying that the purpose of a Notice of Motion, critical for the principles of natural justice, is to give the opposite party and the court notice of what relief the moving party is seeking: Kenora-Patricia Child and Family Services v. M.(A.), 2004 CanLII 56654 (ON SC), [2004] O.J. No. 673 at paragraph 44. This is especially important for a contempt motion, and it has therefore long been held that “[t]he notice of motion must specify the person against whom the order is sought, and state the date, place, and other facts sufficient to identify the particular acts alleged to constitute contempt”: Toronto Transit Commission v. Ryan, 1998 CanLII 14635 (ON SC), [1998] O.J. No. 51 at paragraph 29.
The requirement that the Notice of Motion for contempt contain the clearly articulated particulars of the charge was relaxed somewhat in the case of Follows v. Follows, 1998 CanLII 4629 (ON CA), [1998] O.J. No. 3652 (C.A.) at paragraph 3. It created what has been described as a “very limited exception” where the particulars are readily ascertainable from a single paragraph in the supporting affidavit and no objection is raised: Rocca Dickson Andreis Inc. v. Andreis, [2013] O.J. No. 4071 (Div. Ct.) at paragraph 21. Since the Follows case, the importance of strict compliance with formal procedures has been reemphasized in Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership v. Torroni, 2009 ONCA 85 (CanLII), [2009] O.J. No. 356 (Ont. C.A.), and Morasse v. Nadeau-Dubois, 2016 SCC 44.”