HQ v. Chatham Kent Children’s Services, 2021 CFSRB 20

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD

BETWEEN:

HQ

Applicant

-and-

Chatham Kent Children’s Services

Respondent

DECISION

Adjudicator: Catherine Bickley

Date: March 23, 2021

Citation: 2021 CFSRB 20

Indexed As: HQ v Chatham Kent Children’s Services (CYFSA s.120)

background

1This is an Application filed with the Child and Family Services Review Board (“CFSRB”) under section 120 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, SO 2017, c.14, Sched.1 (the “Act”).

2The CFSRB found the Application eligible to proceed to a hearing under sections 120(4)4 and 120(4)5 of the Act. At a February 22, 2021 pre-hearing, the parties signed a participation agreement which included a confidentiality clause, participated in mediation and reached a settlement.

3The pre-hearing report contained the following confidentiality order:

Pursuant to Rules 9.3 and 9.4 of the CFSRB’s Rules of Procedure, parties and their representatives must not use, share, discuss or disclose any CFSRB documents or decisions, or any other documents or information provided or used in this Application, with anyone including through the media or online. The CFSRB prohibits the use of any of this information for any purpose outside of the CFSRB’s proceedings, except with an order of the Court or the CFSRB, as appropriate.

4The Applicant is self-represented in the CFSRB proceeding. After the pre-hearing, a lawyer representing the Applicant in family law proceedings wrote to the CFSRB as follows:

I represent Ms. Quinn in a family law matter. She tells me that her application to the CFSRB has been heard but that she is not permitted to divulge information. I am requesting some clarity in this regard. Ms. Quinn has not had reasonable access for a very long time based on the Chatham CAS’s position. Counsel for the father seeks to have Chatham CAS investigate the mother for ongoing access and the court seeks the information that has always been disputed by Ms. Quinn, from the Chatham CAS. Can Ms. Quinn release any information to me in support of her case in the SCJ?

5In a March 9, 2021 Case Management Direction, the CFSRB directed as follows:

The Applicant may share information about the pre-hearing, including the outcome of the pre-hearing, with her family law lawyer.

That information, however, may not be used in the family law proceedings or other proceedings unless permission is granted by the CFSRB or by order of the Court [emphasis added].

The CFSRB only grants permission for the use of information from its proceedings in exceptional circumstances. It does not typically grant permission to use that information in family law proceedings.

6The Applicant then wrote to the CFSRB requesting permission to use pre-hearing and mediation information and documents in her family law proceeding. She stated:

I need to be able to use what was discussed and our mediated settlement agreement because my access should no longer be hindered by the father and the children's aid society in Chatham.

analysis

7CFSRB section 120 proceedings are distinct from child protection or family law Court proceedings. The CFSRB’s jurisdiction in section 120 applications is limited to service issues rather than the substantive issues before the Court.

8As a mandatory pre-requisite to participating in mediation at a section 120 pre-hearing, all participants sign a Participation Agreement which includes a confidentiality clause. The pre-hearing report also includes a confidentiality order based on Rules 9.3 and 9.4 of the CFSRB’s Rules of Procedure.

9The Applicant has not provided any persuasive reason to depart from the CFSRB’s usual practice of waiving confidentiality only in exceptional circumstances.

10It is open to the Applicant to ask the Court for an order permitting the settlement agreement and other information to be used in the proceeding before it. The Court is more fully informed of the nature and details of that proceeding than is the CFSRB and thus better able to determine the appropriateness of such an order. For these reasons, I deny the Applicant’s request.

order

11The Applicant’s request that the CFSRB waive the confidentiality order in the February 22, 2021 pre-hearing report is denied.

confidentiality order

12Pursuant to Rules 9.3 and 9.4 of the CFSRB’s Rules of Procedure, parties and their representatives must not use, share, discuss or disclose any CFSRB documents or decisions or any other documents or information provided or used in this Application with anyone, including through the media or online. The CFSRB prohibits the use of any of this information for any purpose outside of the CFSRB’s proceedings, except with an order of the Court or the CFSRB, as appropriate.