2018 QCCQ 13496, 2018 QCCQ 13496

Protection de la jeunesse — 184133 2018 QCCQ 13496 COURT OF QUEBEC CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT […] LOCALITY […] « Youth Court Division » N°: 525-41-0 29474-152 Date: July 3, 2018 PRESIDED BY: THE HONOURABLE TAYA DI PIETRO, Q.C.J. In the case of: X Born on […], 2015 [Social Worker 1] , duly authorized by the Director of Youth Protection of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux A Applicant -and- A , the mother -and- B , the father The parents JUDGMENT Sections 95 and 95.1 of the Youth Protection Act (L.R.Q., C.

P-34.1 ) JD2620 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 11.2, 11.2.1 and 135 Y.P.A.). [ 1 ] The Court hereby confirms and provides written reasons for a decision rendered verbally at the hearing of July 3, 2018, in accordance with the requirements of

section 90 of the Youth Protection Act [1] . [ 2 ] The Court was presented with an Application for revision of an order rendered by the undersigned, on August 30, 2017, whereby the now three year-old child, X , was entrusted to her father with aid, counsel and assistance, for a period of one year. [ 3 ] The facts alleged in support of the application for revision dated March 22, 2018, are as follows: 3.1. since the last court order, the mother has been very collaborative with the services offered to her, and has been making positive steps to improve her situation; 3.2. the mother’s mental health has been stable; 3.3. the mother underwent a parental capacity assessment, which con-cluded that the mother’s visits with the child should be increased, and be in her home where she can have more quality time with the child; 3.4. until around February 2018, the mother was having weekly super-vised visits through AMCAL and the Director of Youth Protection; 3.5. in or around February 2018, the mother’s visits became partially supervised, and sometimes did not include any supervision whatsoever; 3.6. the mother’s contacts with the child are presently for a duration of five (5) to six (6) hours every second Saturday; 3.7. an educator has been working very closely with the mother, and has reported positive progress regarding the mother’s parenting; 3.8. the father has been very mistrustful and making baseless accusations against the mother; 3.9. the father has been mistrustful towards all of the professionals working with the family;

3.10. the father has been exhibiting signs of potential parental alienation of the mother; 3.11. the father repeatedly mentions that he wants the child to refer to his fiancé as her mother; 3.12. the father does not agree that the mother’s contacts be unsupervised, despite all of the positive feedback from the professionals involved; 3.13. most recently, the father refused for the youth protection worker to see the child; 3.14. the father has not been collaborating with the youth protection worker (reproduced with errors and/or omissions). [ 4 ] In light of the foregoing, the Director recommends that the child remain entrusted to her father, with aid, counsel and assistance, as well as additional corrective measures, for a period of one year. [ 5 ] The mother, who chose to proceed without the assistance of legal counsel, admitted paragraphs 3.1 to 3.7 and ignored all the other allegations regarding the father.

She consented to the proposed measures. [ 6 ] The father, who chose to proceed without the assistance of legal counsel, denied most of the alleged facts but also consented to the proposed measures. [ 7 ] Me Saad, on behalf of the child, made no admissions but approved of the measures proposed by the Director of Youth Protection. [ 8 ] The Director filed Exhibits D-11 and D-12 as evidence: D-11: Parental Capacity Assessment of the mother, by Dr. Niki Saros, dated January 10, 2018 and résumé (filed under

section 293 C.C.P.); D-12: Court Report, written by [social worker 1], dated June 20, 2018. [ 9 ] In

summary, both parents agree that the child remain entrusted to her father and that the Director of Youth Protection’s ongoing involvement and support remains necessary to help the parents learn to co-parent and foster a strong, healthy relationship between the child and her mother. [ 10 ] The evidence establishes that the mother has made significant progress since the birth of her daughter.

Her situation is much more stable and she is a caring and committed parent who is able to offer her child a steady, positive and affectionate presence. [ 11 ] As summarized in her parental capacity assessment: The overall impressions from the assessment suggest that Ms. A has made substantial progress in many areas of her life. In terms of the basic dimensions of parental capacity, she has a clear prioritization of parenting and shows better preparedness to assume greater parental involvement. Ms.

A has had stable residence for the past two years; she lives indepen-dently and has a bedroom which is equipped for X. Since 2007, she has taken Effexor for anxiety management. She has actively addressed her mental health issues and she recently completed a period of therapy during which all objectives were met. She has been collaborative towards the interventions from Batshaw and regularly visits X. She works part-time and reports job satisfaction. Ms. A would like to pursue courses in Early Childhood Education and having already completed a DEC, she may be able to apply past credits to this program.

Although Ms.

A is dependent on her mother in many areas of her life, she does appear to have the capacity to fulfill the majority of tasks on her own. [2] [ 12 ] The mother was observed to be “attentive and caring” towards her child and demonstrated her “ability to objectively evaluate what is best for X” as “reflected by her explicit acceptance of X’s blended family situation” [3] , thus showing an increased maturity and sensitivity to her daughter’s needs. [ 13 ] Under the circumstances, increased contacts between X and her mother are recommended: Given the critical period of attachment from 0-3 years, a more equitable distribution of time with X should be considered to strengthen the parent-child bond.

It is reasonable for X to spend time at her mother’s residence. It is recommended that visits take place at home, rather than in a library. [4] [ 14 ] The Director of Youth Protection’s role will be to foster a stronger mother-daughter bond through increased contacts and to ensure that such contacts are not jeopardized by any potential conflict between the parents: The next several months will be crucial for Ms. A to establish herself as a part-time mother for X and be actively involved in her daughter’s life. There will be overnight visits at Ms.

A’s home and we will continue to provide all the supports necessary for the visits to continue to be appropriate and positive. [5] [ 15 ] Despite the allegations, the father expressed no animosity towards the mother during the hearing and agreed that contacts between the child and her mother be determined by the Director of Youth Protection in the child’s best interest. [ 16 ] Under the circumstances, given the evidence and the consent expressed by each of the parties, the Court is satisfied that the application is well-founded and that the recommendations are in the child's interest.

THEREFORE, THE COURT: [ 17 ] GRANTS the application;

[ 18 ] DECLARES that the security and development of the child, X , remain in danger under the Youth Protection Act ; AS FOR THE MEASURES, THE COURT DEEMS IT TO BE IN THE CHILD'S INTEREST TO ORDER THE FOLLOWING MEASURES: [ 19 ] ORDERS that the child remain entrusted to her father; [ 20 ] ORDERS that the frequency and modality of contacts between the child and her mother be determined by the Director of Youth Protection, including supervision if deemed necessary; [ 21 ] AUTHORIZES the Director of Youth Protection to exchange information with the treating professionals working with the family; [ 22 ] ORDERS that both parents continue to collaborate with the Director of Youth Protection; [ 23 ] ORDERS that a person working for the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux A provide aid, counsel and assistance to the child and her family; [ 24 ] ENTRUSTS the situation of the child, X , to the Director of Youth Protection of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services A , who shall then see that the measures are carried out; [ 25 ] THE WHOLE for a period of one year.

Signed on July 10, 2018 TAYA DI PIETRO, Q.C.J. Me Edith Zavodni Attorney for the Director of Youth Protection Me Mylène Saad Attorney for the child TD/vl