Patrice Cote

The appellant appealed a summary judgment order granting Crown wardship of the appellant’s children in child protection proceedings.

The appellant alleged violations of Charter mobility rights arising from the disclosure of information by a child protection authority to authorities in the Netherlands after the family relocated there.

The court held that the disclosure was made to assist foreign authorities in determining the children’s best interests and did not breach the appellant’s Charter rights.

The court also addressed complaints about reliance on hearsay evidence and comments by the motion judge regarding the appellant’s request for a bilingual proceeding.

Although the appeal court found the motion judge erred in questioning the appellant’s French language ability, the appeal was dismissed as moot and without merit.

The plaintiffs, two sisters, sued their third sister and her family members over the transfer of a family farm property.

The plaintiffs alleged that the property was transferred for less than its true value and that the defendant sister breached her fiduciary duty.

The plaintiff Liliana brought a motion for a Certificate of Pending Litigation (CPL) after discovering a new $2,000,000 mortgage on the property and a pending agreement of purchase and sale for $6.9 million.

The court granted the CPL but ordered that it could be vacated upon payment of $1,500,000 into court if the pending sale closes, balancing the plaintiffs' claims with the defendants' right to complete the transaction.