WARNING
THIS IS AN APPEAL UNDER THE
CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES ACT
AND IS SUBJECT TO S. 45 OF THE ACT WHICH PROVIDES:
45(7) The court may make an order,
(a) excluding a particular media representative from all or part of a hearing;
(b) excluding all media representatives from all or a part of a hearing; or
(c) prohibiting the publication of a report of the hearing or a specified part of the hearing,
where the court is of the opinion that the presence of the media representative or representatives or the publication of the report, as the case may be, would cause emotional harm to a child who is a witness at or a participant in the hearing or is the subject of the proceeding.
45(8) No person shall publish or make public information that has the effect of identifying a child who is a witness at or a participant in a hearing or the subject of a proceeding, or the child’s parent or foster parent or a member of the child’s family.
45(9) The court may make an order prohibiting the publication of information that has the effect of identifying a person charged with an offence under this Part.
Court of Appeal for Ontario
Citation: Children’s Aid Society of Toronto v. V.D., 2016 ONCA 777 Date: 2016-10-24 Docket: C62218
Before: Cronk, Juriansz and Brown JJ.A.
Between:
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto Applicant (Respondent to the Appeal)
and
V.D. and P.V. Respondent (Appellant)
Counsel: V.D., acting in person Lisa Hayes, for the respondent
Heard: October 13, 2016
On appeal from the judgment of Justice Nancy L. Backhouse of the Superior Court of Justice, dated May 10, 2016.
Appeal Book Endorsement
[1] The appellant mother appeared today and requested an adjournment of the appeal due to: i) illness; ii) the transcripts of submissions before Backhouse J. have not been ordered or filed; and iii) her wish for legal representation for argument of the appeal.
[2] The issues on appeal are most serious, involving Crown wardship, without access, of the appellant’s son. In these circumstances, the respondent Society does not object to the requested adjournment of the appeal.
[3] We agree that a short adjournment is appropriate on the following terms:
the appeal is adjourned to December 12, 2016, to be argued on that date, peremptory to the appellant;
the Society shall order, on an expedited basis, and file with the court, the transcripts of the two and one-half day hearing before Backhouse J. The Society will also make a copy of those transcripts available to the appellant as soon as they are available from the court reporting service;
if the appellant wishes to be represented by counsel on the appeal, it is incumbent on her to make the necessary arrangements with Legal Aid Ontario or Pro Bono Law in advance of the December 12, 2016 hearing date. If counsel is to argue the appeal on behalf of the appellant, he or she should attend on December 12th prepared to do so. We again emphasize that argument of the appeal on December 12, 2016 is peremptory to the appellant;
the transcripts referred to above and all other materials related to this appeal may be served on the appellant by leaving copies of same for her at the main desk of the Society’s offices at 30 Isabella St., Toronto, as previously ordered by Juriansz J.A. on July 15, 2016 and LaForme J.A. on July 22, 2016;
we note that the Society has previously made copies of the appeal materials available for pick-up by the appellant at the Society’s offices, in accordance with the orders of Juriansz and LaForme JJ.A., but the appellant has apparently not picked them up. The Society has also brought copies of those materials to court today for the benefit of the appellant. It is the appellant’s responsibility to pick up the appeal materials that she will require for argument of the appeal as directed in this and the previous orders of this court;
the Society shall also provide the appellant mother, together with the materials to be furnished to her as outlined above, with a letter outlining available information regarding the current health and well-being of the appellant’s son. That letter should be made available to the mother, in the manner outlined above, within the next 10 days;
there will be no costs of today’s attendance; and
finally, we note that the Society has now delivered to the appellant mother, in court today, a copy of the appeal materials previously held for her at the Society’s offices.