M. Elchami

The paternal grandmother, S.V., moved to be added as a party to child protection proceedings concerning her grandchild, A.M., and for access.

The court found that S.V. met the definition of "care provider" under the federal Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children Youth and Families, and therefore had a right to party status from the outset.

The motion to add S.V. as a party was granted, but her request for access was dismissed without prejudice as she lacked standing to seek substantive relief prior to being added as a party.

The court noted the agency's failure to name S.V. as a party initially caused prejudice.

The Children's Aid Society brought a protection application regarding a six-year-old Indigenous child due to the mother's severe and ongoing alcohol abuse.

The child had been residing with the maternal grandmother under a voluntary safety plan.

The Society and the father sought to have the child placed in the father's care, while the mother sought to have the child remain with the maternal grandmother under a supervision order.

The court found the child in need of protection and determined that the mother had 'charge' of the child prior to intervention.

However, returning the child to the mother was unsafe.

The court concluded it was in the child's best interests to be placed in the custody of the father, who offered long-term stability and supported the child's Indigenous heritage.

A final custody order was granted to the father, with supervised parenting time for the mother and contact time for the maternal grandmother.

The applicant child protection agency sought to qualify an expert in child maltreatment.

The court conducted a voir dire to determine the admissibility of the expert's opinion evidence.

The court found that "child maltreatment" as a general field of scientific inquiry lacked threshold reliability as a novel science, as there was no evidence of tested theories/techniques, peer review of the general discipline, or established standards for information quality.

Furthermore, the court determined that the expert was engaged for litigation purposes, not as a "participation expert," and thus failed to comply with Rule 20.2(2) of the Family Law Rules.

Consequently, the expert was not qualified, and his report was not admitted, as the risks of admitting unreliable evidence outweighed any benefit.

The Children's Aid Society of Brant brought a motion for summary judgment seeking continued protection findings for the child T.E.H., an order for deemed custody to the paternal aunt L.H., specific access orders for the mother and siblings, no access for the mother's partner, and discretionary access for the father.

The court found T.E.H. to be in continuing need of protection due to risk of emotional harm.

It granted deemed custody to the paternal aunt, L.H., prioritizing the child's best interests and Indigenous cultural identity.

The court made temporary access orders for the mother and siblings, but declined to make a "no access" order for the mother's partner or a discretionary access order for the father, emphasizing the court's obligation to impose specific terms and conditions for access.

The Applicant Society brought a motion for summary judgment seeking findings that three children (K.M., M.B., and J.B.) were in need of protection and should be placed in the Society's extended care.

The children's mother opposed, proposing a customary care agreement.

The court found ample evidence of the children being in need of protection due to physical and emotional abuse and sexual assault.

The court granted the Society's motion, finding no genuine issue for trial, and ordered the children into extended Society care, rejecting the customary care agreement as it could not be coercively imposed and was not agreed upon by all parties.

The applicant Ogwadeni:deo sought to withdraw an amended child protection application and replace it with a formal customary care agreement, despite the biological parents not having signed the agreement.

The Six Nations Band argued that its governing resolution, enabled by the new federal legislation (Bill C-92), authorized the Band to sign the customary care agreement on behalf of the parents.

The court denied the motion to withdraw the protection application, finding insufficient evidence regarding the child's welfare and best interests, and noting the lack of court oversight since the initial temporary order in 2018.