Margaret Ozel Teixeira

A temporary care and custody motion under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 involving four children (ages 9, 8, 4, and 1) with a history of exposure to intimate partner violence, non-accidental injury, adult conflict, and caregiver instability.

The court determined that both parents posed risks requiring removal from their sole care.

The older children were placed with the mother under supervision with strict conditions, while the younger children were placed with the paternal grandmother under supervision.

All parties received supervised access with the children, with the mother's partner prohibited from any contact.

The decision emphasizes the need for meaningful behavioral change and compliance with supervision orders before unsupervised access or return of children can be considered.

The court addressed motions concerning parenting arrangements for a young child, following the mother's unsubstantiated allegations of sexual abuse by the father's older children and concerns about the mother's repeated, intrusive physical examinations of the child.

Finding no evidence of abuse and concluding the mother's actions were harmful, the court transferred primary care to the father.

The mother's parenting time was ordered to be supervised, with prohibitions on her direct involvement in the child's personal care and from denigrating the father or his children.

The applicant father initiated an urgent motion for access to his son after the respondent mother unilaterally relocated with the child without disclosing her whereabouts.

The court granted the father temporary supervised access, rejecting the mother's assertion of no access.

Given concerns regarding both parents' capacity, the Office of the Children’s Lawyer was ordered to intervene.

The court awarded the father fixed costs for an earlier appearance, finding the mother's conduct unjustified.