2022 QCCQ 10095, 2022 QCCQ 10095

Protection de la jeunesse — 225695 2022 QCCQ 10095 JB5047 QUEBEC COURT CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF [...] TOWN OF [...] « Youth division »

N o : 460-41-002238-210 DATE: July 14, 2022 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE PASCALE BERARDINO, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SITUATION OF : X Born on [...], 2007 [SOCIAL WORKER 1] , person duly authorized by the Director of Youth Protection of CIUSSS A; Applicant -and- A Child’s mother -and- B Child’s father ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT [1] ______________________________________________________________________ WARNING: The Youth Protection Act forbids the publishing or broadcasting of information allowing for a child or the child’s parents to be identified.

Any person who contravenes this provision commits an offence and is liable to a fine (sections 9.2, 9.3 and 135 Y.P.A.).

Introduction [ 1 ] The Director is requesting the revision of the Court order rendered on May 11, 2021. [ 2 ] By this order, the Tribunal declared the security and development of the youth X still in danger for the motives of educational neglect and serious risk of sexual abuse. [ 3 ] As protective measures, the Court entrusted the youth to an institution operating a rehabilitation center, authorized her progressive return in the family environment, authorized contacts with her mother upon agreement between the parties, authorized supervised contacts with her father, by a third party designed by the Director and upon agreement between the parties, authorized the lifting of the supervision and ordered various other measures including a social follow-up for a period of nine months. [ 4 ] Today, the Director considers that the security and the development of the youth are still in danger for the same motives. [ 5 ] Because of the new facts alleged, the Director recommends essentially to prolong the previous measures previously ordered for another period of one year. [ 6 ] At the hearing of July 14, 2022, the mother is present and represented.

She agrees with the recommended measures but is requesting a shorter order for only a period of six months. [ 7 ] She also wants an order for a minimum frequency of contact to be every other weekend and one day during the week for the summer period. [ 8 ] The father is also present but not represented. He supports the mother’s position. He adds that he would like to have his

visitations with the youth and her mother reinstated and agrees that they could be more regularly scheduled. [ 9 ] The youth’s lawyer agrees with the recommendations but also would like a shorter order. She mentions that her client wants her mother to supervise the contacts she will have with her father so that she can have activities with her father. She would also like to have contacts with her mother during the week in order to accelerate her return home. [ 10 ] She also supports the mother’s claim for a minimum threshold of contacts be set in the present order.

Question in litigation [ 11 ] Should the father’s contacts be supervised by the mother? [ 12 ] What should the frequency and modality of contacts with the mother? [ 13 ] Should the services of an educator be provided to support X’s return home? [ 14 ] What should be the length of the present order? Evolution of the situation [ 15 ] Since the last court order, X [2] has been living at the same centre where he has been staying from May 2021. [ 16 ] The youth has been working with the educators to improve his behaviour.

Nonetheless, he has known some ups and downs. [ 17 ] X has a tendency to lie, to test and circumvent the rules at the centre.

There are also issues with his hygiene. [ 18 ] X still has difficulties managing his emotions and asking for help, and he needs someone that will often check with him and be sensitive to his needs. [ 19 ] He has also been consuming drugs (mainly e-cigarette) braking some rules at the centre and suspended from school regarding his drug use. [ 20 ] However, his school’s results have been good even if he has a bit of trouble organizing himself and a hard time during breaks. [ 21 ] In April 2022, he was suspended from school for lying, not respecting the lunch rules and vandalism in the school bus. [ 22 ] From April 20 th to May 10 th 2022, he was schooled within the centre, as X was considered too fragile to be on the premises of the school. [ 23 ] In August 2021, he announced himself as a transgender boy and he currently identifies himself as a boy in school and to her parents. [ 24 ] Regarding self-harming and suicidal ideation, there was a long period when X stopped both, from August 2021 to January 2022. [ 25 ] He resumed having those behaviours and thoughts in January 2022 and also reports having some hallucinations. [ 26 ] In October 2021, the youth started monthly meetings with a child psychiatrist and he started a new medication for anxiety.

He also pursues his medication for ADHD. [ 27 ] In February 2022, X started a psychological follow up, once every 2 weeks. In May, his psychologist mentioned the hypothesis of a personality disorder but did not set a firm diagnosis.

The intensity of the psychological follow up was then increased to once per week. [ 28 ] In May he also had epilepsy episodes and is waiting for some tests to evaluate her condition. [ 29 ] In June, his situation seems to deteriorate as he was having more difficulty with other youths in the centre and isolated himself, goes to the hospital for various reasons, makes himself a homemade tattoo, needs constant supervision by an adult for his hygiene, seems to develop an eating disorder and is using his e-cigarette excessively. [ 30 ] In April 2022, he revealed having been sexually abused by a teacher when he was 8 years old.

In June, accompanied by his mother, he met with the police to file his deposition in this regard. [ 31 ] X has been attending individual sexual education tutoring sessions and the mother worked on the meaning of consent, sexual assault and how to talk to her child about those subjects.

His attendance has been suspended as the mental health issues overcame this need. [ 32 ] The father continues to deny all accusations of sexual abuse. [ 33 ] Since July 2021, five contacts have taken place with the father, twice in person and three by video conference. [ 34 ] He has cancelled many scheduled visits or contacts, even if they were scheduled in advance. The father invokes his work

schedule to explain his absence and cancellations.

[ 35 ] Due to comments made by X and inconsistencies on what he reported from the visits, the delegate suspected that the order of supervision of contact between the father and the youth had been broken few times. [ 36 ] The father has not been collaborating with the Director.

He is angry and throws the blame of the situation at the DYP and is not available for the social follow up. [ 37 ] The relationship between the youth and his mother has improved since the beginning of the follow-up. [ 38 ] Visits between them were more frequent and to every other full weekend but they were recently diminished to one every other Saturday for a duration of 5 hours. [ 39 ] Indeed, there seems to be less parental supervision during these contacts, the

schedule was not respected and the youth claims having used drugs with his mother and that latter helped him to lie and to break the rules. [ 40 ] The delegate met with the mother who had to be reminded about the visitation rules. However, she denied having helped her child lie to circumvent the rules. [ 41 ] The parents’ relationship status has remained unclear to the Director. [ 42 ] Nonetheless, both parents testified that they are a couple.

Facts and arguments about the objects of litigation The father’s contacts [ 43 ] The delegate argues that it would not be the best solution to have the mother supervise the contacts with the father. [ 44 ] She claims that the mother already has much difficulty to maintain a certain set of rules and ascertain her authority over her teenage child so it would be too much for her to supervise the father’s contacts also. [ 45 ] Furthermore, she would like to observe a few good contacts before allowing a semi-supervision as the youth and his father can be aggressive towards one another. [ 46 ] The father needs to be present at the scheduled visits and participate to the social follow-up which is not the case presently. [ 47 ] She also requires that the father address the sexual abuse issue. [ 48 ] He claims that he is dealing with the accusations in Ontario but had not informed the delegate of such. [ 49 ] He denied having had unauthorized contacts with his child.

He says he overheard a conversation on the phone and made sure he got what he needed, nothing more. [ 50 ] In fact, what he gave to X was an e-cigarette, which is illegal for the youth to smoke. [ 51 ] X affirms that his relationship with his dad needs a lot of work. He explains that it is because they disagree with each other and not listen to one another.

The mother’s contacts and the Services of an educator [ 52 ] The Director has made educational services available for the mother to work on her structure at home with the teenager, through the centre. [ 53 ] The delegate informs the Court that the mother never reached out for that help. [ 54 ] She has also benefited from advice in the past but did not apply it. [ 55 ] The delegate also mentions that the mother has only just started to impose a better structure at home. [ 56 ] Furthermore, although there is some development in the mother-child relationship, X it is not yet secure. [ 57 ] For example, when the youth has dark thoughts he confides in an educator but not his mother. [ 58 ] The mother agrees that their relationship has been rocky but that it has improved lately and that X shows her more respect. [ 59 ] She also mentions not have asked for the educational help at the centre because she felt they did not want the responsibility. [ 60 ] The mother says that she sees improvement in the teenager since the psychologist is involved regarding emotional control. [ 61 ] She claims that X responds better to her structure but agrees that there is room for improvement. [ 62 ] The youth corroborates this information and testifies that his mom is now more assertive but that he still has difficulties accepting refusals. [ 63 ] Regarding the father’s presence at home, she says that if her child comes home he will leave if his contacts remain supervised. [ 64 ] The youths’ lawyer is adamant that there needs to be a great intensity of service for the reintegration to be a success.

[ 65 ] She also adds that the parents’ relationship status has to be resolved.

The length of the present order [ 66 ] The delegate highlights that X's many mental health issues are worsening right now and that globally, the difficulties of the youth and his family remain essentially the same as there is no significant improvement. [ 67 ] It has only been during the last few weeks that some improvement has been observed. [ 68 ] So the Director insists that the length of the order be one year to ensure a successful return home. [ 69 ] The mother and X are requesting to work on their relationship at home and agree with the services of an educator. analyse [ 70 ] Au cours de la présente instance, l’intensité des services rendus par la Directrice a été remise en cause par les parents et l’avocate du jeune. [ 71 ] On invoque la disposition de la loi concernant le droit aux services qui a été modifiée par les récents amendements pour y inclure le niveau de services auxquels les usagers sont en droit de s’attendre : 8.

L’enfant et ses parents ont le droit de recevoir des services de santé et des services sociaux adéquats sur les plans à la fois scientifique, humain et social, avec continuité, de façon personnalisée et avec l’intensité requise , en tenant compte des dispositions législatives et réglementaires relatives à l’organisation et au fonctionnement de l’établissement qui dispense ces services ainsi que des ressources humaines, matérielles et financières dont il dispose. [ 72 ] Le Tribunal met aussi en lumière les nouvelles dispositions concernant les obligations des parents : 11.4.

Les parents ont non seulement des droits, mais également des obligations envers leur enfant. Une intervention faite en vertu de la présente loi auprès d’un enfant ne prive pas ses parents des droits qui leur sont conférés et ne les soustrait pas aux obligations auxquelles ils sont tenus, en vertu du Code civil, à

titre de titulaires de l’autorité parentale, sauf si une disposition de la présente loi prévoit le contraire. En conséquence, les parents, notamment:

a) ont, à l’égard de leur enfant, le droit et le devoir de garde, de surveillance et d’éducation;

b) doivent nourrir et entretenir leur enfant;

c) exercent ensemble l’autorité parentale. 11.5.

Les parents doivent, dans la mesure du possible, participer activement à l’application des mesures pour mettre fin à la situation qui compromet la sécurité ou le développement de leur enfant et pour éviter qu’elle ne se reproduise. [ 73 ] Ce sont ces principes ainsi celui de la primauté de l’intérêt de l’enfant qui guident le Tribunal dans la présente décision. [ 74 ] De plus, les mesures doivent refléter l’orientation présentée par la Directrice qui n’est pas contestée par les parties, soit le maintien en centre de réadaptation pour le moment et la réintégration dans le milieu familial maternel. [ 75 ] Or la preuve révèle que pour actualiser cette orientation, plusieurs enjeux doivent être adressés.

La situation de X et de sa mère [ 76 ] La santé mentale de X doit d’abord être stabilisée et sa relation avec sa mère renforcit. [ 77 ] Cette dernière doit réussir à instaurer des règles et une routine dans son milieu familial de façon telle que le jeune s’y conforme. [ 78 ] Bien qu’un début d’évolution a récemment été observé, les difficultés d’encadrement ont tardé à être adressées par la mère. Pourtant celles-ci sont bien identifiées et ce depuis fort longtemps.

Même X est en mesure de les identifier. [ 79 ] En effet, le témoignage de la mère reflète son manque de proactivité et sa difficulté à se responsabiliser à cet égard, malgré l’aide offerte par la Directrice. [ 80 ] Or, les parents ont le devoir de participer activement au suivi social et de prendre les moyens pour mettre fin à la situation de compromission. [ 81 ] Maintenant, la Directrice est prête à instaurer des contacts la semaine pour travailler la routine et l’encadrement.

En ce sens, le Tribunal croit que les services d’un éducateur deviennent essentiels. [ 82 ] Par ailleurs, pour travailler ces enjeux, durant la période estivale, un plancher minimal de contact d’un samedi sur deux et d’un jour de la semaine à chaque semaine est indiqué. [ 83 ] À la rentrée scolaire, il faudra revoir cet horaire de contact afin de ne pas nuire au parcours scolaire de X. La relation entre les parents et la situation du père

[ 84 ] La relation entre les parents doit être clarifiée et ce avant que l’on envisage la réintégration de X puisque les parents déclarent vivre ensemble. [ 85 ] Or les contacts père-enfant sont toujours supervisés et ce tant que le père négligera/refusera d’adresser les enjeux d’attouchements sexuels sur des jeunes filles. [ 86 ] Le Tribunal rappelle les propos de son dernier jugement par rapport à la situation en Alberta : bien que des accusations n’ont pas été portées, cela ne fait pas la preuve que les gestes n’ont pas été posés. [ 87 ] Le père doit aussi régulariser sa situation en lien avec les accusations en matière sexuelle en Ontario qui demeurent en suspens. [ 88 ] Lors de la dernière ordonnance, le Tribunal avait été très clair quant à ses attentes vis-à-vis du père à ce sujet : « 114.The father also needs to set the record straight regarding the criminal complaints in Ontario and collaborate with the authorities. » [3] [ 89 ] Outre ses affirmations, le père n’a fourni aucune preuve extrinsèque, qu’il a entrepris des démarches en ce sens. [ 90 ] On a reproché à l’intervenante de ne pas s’être informée auprès des autorités de l’Ontario pour savoir ce qu’il en était.

Or, ce n’est pas à elle de le faire, mais plutôt au père de les actualiser et d’en faire rapport à l’intervenante. [ 91 ] Au surplus, le père admet qu’il n’a pas été proactif dans le suivi social. Or la participation du père à des rencontres psychosociales est cruciale. [ 92 ] Quant aux modalités de contact avec le père, un plancher minimal d’une fois par mois est nécessaire pour travailler la relation entre X et son père.

Toutefois, il faudra un calendrier auquel le père devra adhérer et pour le respect duquel il devra prendre les moyens pour assurer son assiduité. [ 93 ] Par ailleurs, le Tribunal estime que la décision de la Directrice de ne pas recommander la supervision des contacts par la mère est légitime, notamment en raison des enjeux d’encadrement.

La durée [ 94 ] Le Tribunal tient à rappeler que la durée d’une ordonnance doit refléter le temps nécessaire pour que les mesures mises en place puissent mettre fin à la situation de compromission. [ 95 ] Avec tous les enjeux qui doivent être adressés par cette famille, la durée proposée par les parents et le jeune, n’est pas réaliste. [ 96 ] En revanche, la période d’une année recommandée par la Directrice est trop longue puisqu’il y a un échéancier en mai 2023, alors que la durée maximale de placement arrive à son terme. [ 97 ] Le Tribunal estime donc qu’une période de neuf mois répond aux besoins de la jeune.

FOR ALL THESE MOTIVES THE COURT: GRANTS the present application; DECLARES that the security and development of the youth X are still in danger, more specifically on the grounds of serious risk of sexual abuse and educational neglect; REVISES the Court order rendered on May 11, 2021 in the present file; ORDERS the placement of the youth X in a rehabilitation center chosen by the Director of Youth Protection; AUTHORIZES, in the youth’s favour, supervised contacts with the father, by a third party designated by the Director of Youth Protection upon agreement between the parties, failing agreement, the contacts will be once a month set in advance in a predetermined schedule; AUTHORIZES, in the youth’s favour, contact with his mother, upon agreement between the parties; failing agreement, these contacts will accord one every other Saturday for a period of five hours, plus one day during the week during all the summer until school begins, at which point will be revised; AUTHORIZES during this period, the progressive return of the youth with his mother, according to the evolution of the situation; ORDERS that the youth attend school or another learning place or participate in a program aimed at developing skills and autonomy; ORDERS that the youth receive all health care and health services needed, notably regular pediatrician visits and mental health follow- up; ORDERS that the parents take an active and honest

part in the application of any of the measures ordered, namely that they collaborate to the elaboration of the intervention plan and the psychosocial follow-up to put an end to the situation of endangerment; ORDERS that a person, working for CIUSSS A or any other establishment or body, provide aid, counsel and assistance to the youth and his family for a period of nine months;

ORDERS that the services of an educator be provided to the youth and his mother to help her reintegration home ; ENTRUSTS the situation of the youth X to the Director of Youth Protection to see that the measures are carried out. __________________________________ PASCALE BERARDINO, J.C.Q. M e Andréanne Lacasse Counsel for the DYP M e Rosalie Duval Counsel for the youth M e Mireille Leblanc Counsel for the mother Hearing date: July 14, 2022 Deposited exhibits: D-6 and D-7