The Divorce Act contains three obstacles or “bars” to divorce.
1) If the court finds there has been collusion, the court must dismiss the divorce application. Collusion includes any agreement, understanding, or arrangement to fabricate or suppress evidence or to deceive the court. The most common example of this would be a marriage which is part of an immigration scheme.
2) If the court finds that reasonable arrangements for the support of the children have not been made, the granting of the divorce must be stayed until such arrangements have been made.
3) If the divorce is proceeding based on adultery and the applicant has condoned or encouraged the conduct complained of, the application must be dismissed unless in the public interest would be better served by granting the divorce.
