First

Session, 50th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2021

BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES ACT

Received

and Read the First Time ................................................................

Second

Reading ............................................................................................

Committee .....................................................................................................

Third

Reading ...............................................................................................

Royal

Assent .................................................................................................

HONOURABLE LISA

DEMPSTER

Minister of

Responsible for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation and Minister

Responsible for Labrador Affairs

Ordered to be printed by

the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Children, Youth and Families Act to

amend the definition of foster

parent;

clarify that the jurisdiction

of a manager extends throughout the province;

allow any manager to fulfill a power,

duty or obligation referred to in the Act, regulations or an order as the

circumstances require;

reflect that an Indigenous

government or organization may designate more than one Indigenous

representative;

authorize a judge to make an interim

order where a hearing under

section 25 of the Act has not been concluded;

clarify the process to transfer

care, supervision or custody of a child or youth between managers;

provide other methods for

serving documents on an Indigenous representative including electronic service;

remove the requirement for an

agreement where information is being disclosed without consent to the Chief

Medical Examiner, the Child Death Review Committee or the Child and Youth

Advocate; and

allow information to be

disclosed without consent for an investigation or a hearing relating to an allegation,

complaint or concern under the Social

Workers Act where the recipient of the information has signed an agreement.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHILDREN, YOUTH AND

FAMILIES ACT

Analysis

S.2 Amdt.

Interpretation

S.4 Amdt.

Managers

S.25 Amdt.

Where child is not removed

S.27 Amdt.

Notice of hearings where child removed

S.36 Amdt.

Subsequent order

S.43 Amdt.

Permanent transfer of custody after continuous custody order

S.45 Amdt.

Rescinding continuous custody order

S.46 R&S

Transfer between managers

S.46.1 Added

Application to transfer between managers

S.50 Amdt.

Child returned after protective intervention hearing

S.58 Amdt.

Service of documents

S.94 Amdt.

Disclosure without consent

13. Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL2018 cC-12.3

1. Paragraph 2(

m) of the Children, Youth and Families Act is repealed and the following

substituted:

(m) "foster parent" means a person with

whom a child or youth, who is in the care or custody of a manager, is placed

and who is authorized by the manager to exercise those rights and

responsibilities respecting the child or youth that are set out in an agreement

between the manager and the foster parent, and includes kin but does not

include the parent;

Section 4 of the Act is amended by adding immediately

after subsection (4) the following:

(5) A manager appointed under subsection (1) has

jurisdiction throughout the province to exercise the powers and perform the

duties conferred or imposed on a manager by this Act.

(6) A reference to

(a) "the manager" in this Act, the

regulations or an order made under this Act; or

(

b) a specific manager in an order made under this

Act

authorizes any manager to carry out the powers, duties or

obligations referred to in this Act, the regulations or an order made under

this Act as the circumstances require, but does not constitute a transfer under

section 46.

3. (1) Paragraph 25(3)(

c) of the Act is repealed

and the following substituted:

(

c) an Indigenous representative of the

appropriate Indigenous government or organization, where a manager or social

worker believes the child is an Indigenous child.

(2) Section 25 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (4) the following:

(4.1) Where a hearing under this

section has not

been concluded and it is in the best interest of the child, the judge may order

that

(

a) the child remain with the parent under the

supervision of a manager until the conclusion of the hearing under this

section;

(

b) the child be placed in the custody of a

parent, other than the parent with whom the child resides, under the

supervision of a manager until the conclusion of the hearing under this

section;

(

c) the child be placed in the care of the child's

family or a person significant to the child, other than the parent with whom

the child resides, under the

supervision of a manager until the conclusion of the hearing under this

section; or

(

d) the child be placed in the custody of a

manager until the conclusion of the hearing under this section.

(4.2) Where a judge makes an order under subsection

(4.1), the judge may attach reasonable conditions to that order, including

conditions with respect to

(

a) the child's contact with a parent, unless the

judge is satisfied that continued contact with the parent would not be in the

best interests of the child;

(

b) the child's contact with a person significant

to the child; and

(

c) the assessment, treatment or services to be

obtained by the child or the child's parent,

but an order shall not contain conditions

with respect to the type or the geographic location of the placement for the

child.

(3) Subsection 25(5) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(5) At the conclusion of a hearing under this

section, a judge shall determine whether the child is in need of protective

intervention.

(4) Section 25 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (5) the following:

(6) Where a judge finds that the child is in need

of protective intervention, the judge shall so declare and shall make an order

under

section 32.

4. Paragraph 27(2)(

c) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

c) an Indigenous representative of the

appropriate Indigenous government or organization, where a manager or social

worker believes the child is an Indigenous child.

5. Paragraph 36(3)(

c) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

c) an Indigenous representative of the

appropriate Indigenous government or organization, where a manager or social

worker believes the child is an Indigenous child.

6. Paragraph 43(4)(

c) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

c) an Indigenous representative of the

appropriate Indigenous government or organization, where a manager or social

worker believes the child is an Indigenous child or the youth is an Indigenous

youth; and

7. Paragraph 45(2)(

d) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

d) an Indigenous representative of the

appropriate Indigenous government or organization, where a manager or social

worker believes the child is an Indigenous child or the youth is an Indigenous

youth; and

Section 46 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Transfer between

managers

(1) A manager who has care, supervision

or custody of a child or youth may transfer care, supervision or custody to

another manager where the transfer would not interfere with the other manager's

ability to comply with a condition of the original order .

(2) Where the care, supervision or custody of a

child or youth is transferred from one manager to another manager under this section,

(

a) the other manager has care, supervision or

custody of the child or youth with the same rights and responsibilities as the

manager who made the transfer; and

(

b) the manager who made the transfer ceases to

have care, supervision or custody of the child or youth.

(3) A transfer under this

section is effective upon the filing of a notice with

the court that made the original order.

9. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 46 the following:

Application to

transfer between managers

46.1

(1) Where the transfer of care,

supervision or custody of a child or youth to another manager would result in

the other manager being unable to comply with a condition of the original

order, the manager who has care, supervision or custody of the child or youth

may file an application with the court for an order to transfer care,

supervision or custody of the child or youth to the other manager.

(2) Not later than 10 days before the date set for

the hearing of an application under this section, notice of the date, time and

place of the hearing shall be served on

(

a) a parent;

(

b) a child, where the child is 12 years of age or

older, or a youth;

(

c) an

Indigenous representative of the appropriate Indigenous government or

organization, where a manager or social worker believes the child is an

Indigenous child or the youth is an Indigenous youth;

(

d) a person who, under an order for continuous custody

under paragraph 32(2)(d), has been granted access with the child or youth; and

(

e) any other party to the application at which

the original order was made.

(3) When

a parent or an other party to the application at which

the original order was made is

served notice under subsection (2) they shall also be served with a copy of the

application.

(4) Where an application is made under this

section and the judge is satisfied that a transfer of care, supervision or

custody of the child or youth to another manager is in the best interest of the

child or youth, the judge

(

a) shall make an order authorizing the transfer

of care, supervision or custody of the child or youth to the other manager; and

(

b) may attach reasonable conditions to that order.

10. Subparagraph 50(1)(a)(iii) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

(iii) an Indigenous representative of the

appropriate Indigenous government or organization, where a manager or social

worker believes the child is an Indigenous child; and

(1) Section 58 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (2) the following:

(2.1) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), a

notice or other document required to be served on an Indigenous representative under

this Act may also be served by

(

a) leaving a copy, in a sealed envelope addressed

to the Indigenous representative, at the office of the Indigenous

representative, with an adult person who appears to be an employee of that

office; or

(

b) sending it electronically to the electronic

address for service provided by the Indigenous representative.

(2) Subsection 58(3) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(3) Service under subsections (1) and (2.1) may be

proved by a written or oral statement under oath by the person who served the

document.

(1) Paragraphs 94(

e) and (

f) of the Act are

repealed and the following substituted:

(

e) for

a criminal proceeding or an investigation by the Chief Medical Examiner or the

Child Death Review Committee under the Fatalities

Investigations Act ;

(

f) for

a review or investigation of a matter relating to a child or youth by the Child

and Youth Advocate under the Child and

Youth Advocate Act ;

(2) Section 94 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after paragraph (

f) the following:

(f.1) for

an investigation or a hearing relating to an allegation, complaint or concern under

the Social Workers Act and the person

to whom that information is disclosed has signed an agreement to comply with

conditions set by the minister; or

Commencement

13. This Act comes into force on June 30, 2021.

Queen's Printer