Emmanuel Gibson

The applicant children's aid society brought a motion to add the respondent father to a parenting capacity assessment that the mother and children were previously ordered to undergo as a condition of a supervision order.

The court dismissed the motion, finding it lacked jurisdiction under section 54(1) of the Child and Family Services Act because there was no active proceeding before the court, as the trial order was final and no status review application had been commenced.

The father's request for costs was also dismissed.

Applying the established principles for awarding costs against a society, the court found the society's conduct was not exceptional or patently unfair.

The applicant sought Crown wardship of two young children based on allegations of severe physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by the parents against older siblings.

The court found the children in need of protection due to a real risk of physical and emotional harm, primarily stemming from the father's historical violence and the mother's failure to protect the older siblings.

However, applying the least disruptive alternative principle, the court rejected Crown wardship.

Instead, the court ordered that the children be placed in the mother's care under a 12-month supervision order with strict conditions, including that she have no contact with the father, who was granted only limited supervised access.

The Children's Aid Society brought a motion for summary judgment seeking a finding that the child was in need of protection and an order for Crown wardship.

The child had been apprehended due to domestic violence between the parents and the mother's failure to protect the child from the father.

The court granted summary judgment finding the child in need of protection under the Child and Family Services Act, noting the parents' history of conflict and the mother's lack of insight.

However, the court dismissed the motion for summary judgment regarding Crown wardship, finding a genuine issue for trial regarding the appropriate disposition, as the mother had made efforts to rehabilitate herself and raised concerns about the parenting capacity assessment.