Julie M. Kirkpatrick

Three mothers sought judicial review of decisions made by the Motherisk Commission regarding their child protection cases.

The court first ruled that the mandatory publication ban under s. 45(8) of the Child and Family Services Act prevented the media from publishing the mothers' names, even with their consent.

The court then dismissed one application as moot because the applicant had already received a favourable ruling from the Commissioner.

The remaining two applications were dismissed as premature because the applicants had not yet exhausted the internal reconsideration processes available before the Commission.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board denying her claim for compensation following an alleged sexual assault.

The Board had rejected the appellant's direct evidence and the expert evidence of two sexual assault nurses, relying instead on hearsay evidence from a police officer who concluded the acts were consensual.

The Divisional Court allowed the appeal and remitted the matter for a new hearing, finding that the Board failed to provide adequate reasons for its decision, thereby breaching procedural fairness.

The Court also held that the Board's decision was unreasonable, as it relied heavily on flawed hearsay evidence while failing to explain its rejection of the appellant's and the medical experts' evidence.