Appellants J.V. and M.V., maternal grandparents of a child apprehended at birth, appealed from a Superior Court decision dismissing their appeal of a trial judgment declaring the child a Crown ward without access.
The child had been in continuous foster care since ten months of age with prospective adoptive parents.
The appellants sought to have the child placed in their care, but the trial judge found their plan was not in the child's best interests due to concerns including the biological mother's permanent disability (Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder), unresolved conflict between the biological mother and the appellants, and the lack of permanence in their proposed arrangement.
The Court of Appeal upheld the Crown wardship order, finding the trial judge's decision was soundly based on evidence and that the child's need for permanence and stability outweighed the appellants' desire to parent.
