What authority does the court have on applications to vary custody orders under the Divorce Act?

The leading authority on applications to vary custody orders under the Divorce Act is now Gordon v. Goertz, 1996 CanLII 191 (SCC), [1996] 2 S.C.R. 27. The most relevant passage for the purposes of this appeal in the reasons of McLachlin J. for the court is this: 13 It follows that before entering on the merits of an application to vary a custody order the judge must be satisfied of: (1) a change in the condition, means, needs or circumstances of the child and/or the ability of the parents to meet the needs of the child; (2) which materially affects the child; and (3) which was either not foreseen or could not have been reasonably contemplated by the judge who made the initial order.