In a child protection trial, the court determined the mother's access to her child and whether a restraining order should be issued against her.
The mother suffered from severe, long-standing schizoaffective disorder, resulting in unpredictable violent outbursts and a finding of not criminally responsible for past assaults.
The court found that in-person access posed an unacceptable risk of harm to the child and was not in the child's best interests, ordering only indirect access via cards and letters subject to the grandmother's approval.
The society's request for a restraining order was dismissed because the society lacked jurisdiction as the applicant under the Children's Law Reform Act, the grandmother did not fear for the child's safety, and the mother lacked the moral blameworthiness required for a penal restraining order.
