“In Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7, [2014] 1 S.C.R. 87, the Supreme Court of Canada held that a matter should be resolved by summary judgment if: (i) the motion affords a process that allows the judge to make the necessary findings of fact and apply the law to those facts, and (ii) is a proportionate, more expeditious, and less expensive means to achieve a just result than going to trial: Hryniak ,at para. 49. The Supreme Court specifically found that summary judgment rules are to be interpreted broadly; the focus must be on providing access to justice in a timely manner: Hryniak at para. 5
The principles laid out in Hryniak apply to summary judgment motions in family law matters; parties must put their best foot forward and the motions judge is entitled to assume that the evidence before the court is the best evidence available: Chao v. Chao, 2017 ONCA 701 at para. 24.
In Solcz v. Solcz, 2012 ONSC 8457, Kraft J. reviewed a number of decisions which have considered the term “no genuine issue for trial.” At para. 76, she summarized the case law as follows:
The term “no genuine issue requiring a trial” set out in r. 16(6) has been variously interpreted to reflect the notion that the responding party cannot possibly succeed, even if granted the right to a full trial. Among the terms that have been used to describe the test are the following: “no chance of success;” “manifestly devoid of merit”, or “the outcome is a foregone conclusion” or “no realistic possibility of an outcome other than that sought by the applicant.””