I don't think it's a good idea that she stays in the place he rents for her because it's not the right thing to do(I'm not talking about who pays the rent). He has no right to kick her out of the appartment before they get the judgement from court. So if it happened to me, first I would call police if he doesn't allow me in, second I would try to get help from social workers. Why does she want to find a labour job when she can get help from police or government? The money she earns from labour job is not enough to pay the rent and lawyer fees. She has nothing to lose but chance to win if she doesn't have money at all. Try to get a free day care and a free lawyer ( apply for "legal aid" - government money to pay lawyer fees ). Here is Canada. The benefits are not only for native Canadians but also for us - Chinese Canadians.
If he asks her to provide all receipts in China, he has to provide all his receipts in Canada and all bank statements about how he transferred the money, how he spent the money during her absence. The guy is really bad because he planned all these such as sold the house, took all money out when she went back to China etc.
If she keeps the child, she will get child support for sure but the money is not too much (few hundred dollars per month), even if she has a job, he still has to pay until the child is 18 or 22 (if the child goes to University), don't worry about that expecially he is a government employee. If he doesn't pay, the court will takes the money out of his account and pays her and he could be arrested(it happened before). What she should think about is if she plans to go back to China after divorce. If she plans to, I think she should give up the child otherwise he may get the child back to Canada through court because the child was born here, he has his right to visit the child...
Talk to lawyers(don't find a new graduate because they don't have experience) (I think the first talk is free) and ...
Remember, if he doesn't allow her in, and if he stops her using his arms or whatever, that is ASSAULT. You know what I mean? Police will take actions against him.
One thing to talk about: Canadians or Americans or Iranians etc. are different species from Chinese. At the time you trust their honey mouths, you also have to make everything(money, responsibilities etc.) very clear. They are good people (sweet, polite etc.) if they can't take adventage of you, but if they can, some of them will turn very ugly.