While family law arbitration has been practiced for many decades in Ontario, it is still in its infancy in British Columbia, after being introduced in 2013.
British Columbia’s leading case is McMillan v. McMillan 2016 BCCA 441 where the court established the following principles:
1. an arbitrator’s findings of fact are not open to review;
2. questions of law are questions about what the correct legal test is;
3. questions of mixed fact and law permit a review on the standard of reasonableness, nor correctness;
4. deference to the family law arbitrator calls for “respectful attention” to the reasons offered, or which could have been offered; and
5. the overriding test of reasonableness is whether the decision falls within a range of possible acceptable outcomes which are defensible in respect of the facts and the law.
Read the full commentary: Deference to Arbitrator Falls When Best Interests of Child Are Overlooked
This is general information only and is not legal advice. For legal advice, consult a divorce lawyer.