“It is well-established that the most basic obligation in family law is the parties’ duty to disclose financial information and that this requirement is immediate, automatic, and ongoing. As a result, it should not require a court order to enforce: see Roberts v. Roberts, 2015 ONCA 450 (CanLII), 65 R.F.L. (7th) 6, at paras. 11-14. As this court warned in Manchanda v. Thethi, 2016 ONCA 909 (CanLII), 84 R.F.L. (7th) 374, at para. 13: “Those who choose not to disclose financial information or to ignore court orders will be at risk of losing their standing in the proceedings as their claims or answers to claims may be struck.”
This is because, as this court recognized in Roberts, at para. 12, breach of the disclosure obligation causes real harm:
Failure to abide by this fundamental principle impedes the progress of the action, causes delay and generally acts to the disadvantage of the opposite party. It also impacts the administration of justice. Unnecessary judicial time is spent and the final adjudication is stalled.”