A motion concerning parental access to five children in the temporary care and custody of a child protection society.
The children were removed following extremely serious abuse allegations.
The respondent parents were subsequently charged criminally and released on conditions restricting contact with the children.
The court addressed the interaction between criminal release orders and child protection orders, determining that criminal court orders prevail to the extent of any conflict.
The court then assessed appropriate access under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, balancing the risks of harm from alleged abuse against the harm of complete separation from parents.
The court ordered supervised daytime access for the mother (minimum once weekly for three hours) and more restricted supervised access for the father (once weekly for maximum 90 minutes), with no access for the oldest child who disclosed the most severe abuse.
Access remains subject to criminal court release conditions.
