The full article was originally published on Law360TM Canada (www.law360.ca), part of LexisNexis Canada Inc., and can be read here.
Kayleigh Pink was recently published in Law360 Canada, with her article “Stay the course or explain the deviation: Reasons required for judicial departure from AFCC-O Guide”. Kayleigh previously discussed judicial reliance on the AFCC-O Parenting Plan Guide in her March 2024 blog post, which can be read here.
In summary, the article explores the recent guidance from the Ontario Divisional Court in Tremblay-Chartier v. Blanchette, 2025 ONSC 6273 (CanLII), that if a judge departs from the AFCC-O Guide’s recommendations, they must provide reasons for doing so.
The article also raises questions that would benefit from further judicial direction, including whether judges must always consider the AFCC-O Guide as part of the best interests of the child analysis and whether they must explicitly reference it when their orders align with its recommendations.
