Can a finding of parental alienation be made at the interim stage and on the written record?

A finding of parental alienation can be made at the interim stage and on a written record, particularly when the evidence overwhelmingly points to this conclusion. The urgency raised by parental alienation necessitates early and decisive intervention by the court: If there is anything everyone agrees on, whether it be lawyers, experts or judges, it is essential that a parental alienation case be dealt with quickly. As a practical matter, if it is to be dealt with quickly it must be resolved by way of a motion, long before trial (Hazelton v. Forchuk, 2017 ONSC 2282, at para. 2).

Parental alienation is a legal concept as opposed to a mental health diagnosis; therefore, the court may make a finding of alienation on an analysis of the facts alone without expert evidence (Malhotra v. Henhoeffer, 2018 ONSC 6472, at para. 107).

In Fielding v. Fielding, Mackinnon J. heard and accepted expert evidence that parental alienation is established if, i. there was a prior positive relationship with the targeted parent; ii. there is an absence of abuse by the targeted parent; iii. the alienating parent uses many of the alienating strategies; and iv. the child exhibits most of the alienated child behaviours (2013 ONSC 5102, at para. 135).