“The Court of Appeal of Newfoundland, in Duffy v. Duffy, 2009 NLCA 48 (CanLII) summarized a number of general principles regarding the application of the Child Support Guidelines at para. 35:
1. The fundamental obligation of a parent to support his or her children takes precedence over the parent’s own interests and choices.
2. A parent will not be permitted to knowingly avoid or diminish, and not choose to ignore his or her obligation to support his or her children.
3. A parent is required to act responsibility when making financial decisions that may affect the level of child support available from that parent.
4. Imputing income to a parent on the basis that the parent is “intentionally under-employed or unemployed” does not incorporate a requirement for proof of bad faith. “Intentionally” in this context clarifies that the provision does not apply to situations beyond the parent’s control.
5. The determination to impute income is discretionary, as the court considers appropriate in the circumstances.
6. Where a parent is intentionally under-employed or unemployed, the court may exercise its discretion not to impute income where that parent establishes the reasonableness of his or her decision.
7. A parent will not be excused from his or her child support obligations in furtherance of unrealistic or unproductive career aspirations or interests. Nor will it be acceptable for a parent to choose to work for future rewards to the detriment of the present needs of his or her children, unless the parent establishes the reasonableness of his or her course of action.
8. A parent must provide proper and full disclosure of financial information. Failure to do so may result in the court drawing an adverse inference and imputing income.”
D’Angelo v. Barrett, 2014 ONSC 6429 (CanLII) at 60.