What is the test for filing a divorce petition before the entitlement date?

The parties have agreed before me that the date of separation was October 29, 1991, and therefore it is said that the_ divorce case cannot proceed until October 29, 1992. I am surprised in these circumstances that the judge made an interim order under the Divorce Act. I can find no authority in the Divorce Act for filing a petition before the entitlement. I am aware of the case of Carr v. Carr (1989), 19 R.F.L.(3d) 281. In that case it appears that a petition was filed while the parties were still living together. But in that case it was alleged in the petition that the parties had been living separate and apart for one year.