September 15, 2022 – CERB & RRSP Income

“The issue on this interim motion is whether to include the respondent’s CERB income ($14,000) and/or RRSP income  ($10,000) in his 2020 income for the purpose of determining his child support obligations.

There is ample authority for the inclusion of the CERB income for the purpose of determining the respondent’s child support obligations.  See, for example, Dalgleish v. Spencer, 2021 ONSC 1708, at paras. 24 and 33; T.M.R. v. J.K.S., 2021 ONCJ 182, at para. 54.  The CERB was intended to replace employment income lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  I see no reason to exclude the respondent’s CERB income when determining his child support obligations for 2020.

At para. 29 of its decision in Liu v. Huang, 2020 ONCA 450, the Court of Appeal for Ontario reviewed the law with respect to RRSP income in the context of determining child support obligations: “RRSP income received in a particular year is presumptively part of a spouse’s income.  Section 17 of the Guidelines permits a court to depart from the income determination made under s. 16 where it is of the opinion that this would not be the fairest determination of income.  However, this exclusion is not mandatory and remains within a court’s discretion.””

         Ladouceur v. Parent, 2021 ONSC 6112 (CanLII) at 35-37