Danika Jane Brown

This is a costs decision in a child protection matter under Part III of the Child and Family Services Act.

Following a trial held in January and March 2016, the court granted sole custody of the children to the mother and sole discretion regarding access to the father.

The Children's Aid Society and the mother sought costs against the father and his counsel.

The court declined to award costs against the father but awarded costs of $500 each against counsel for bringing and withdrawing a patently unmeritorious Charter motion that was admittedly irrelevant to the proceedings.

A child protection application brought by the Children's Aid Society following the apprehension of three young boys.

The parents consented to a finding that the children were in need of protection under section 37(2)(g) of the Child and Family Services Act due to risk of emotional harm.

The father's authoritarian parenting style, combined with his voluntary withdrawal from the children's lives for nearly two years following a high-conflict marital separation, resulted in significant emotional harm to the children.

The court granted full custody to the mother with sole discretion over access, finding that the father's intransigence and refusal to cooperate with the Society made supervised access futile and potentially harmful to the children.