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Home → Legislative Business → Bills → 42-5

Status of bills in this Session.

5th Session, 42nd Legislature

This HTML version is provided for ease of use and is based on the bilingual version that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.

Bill 32

AN ACT RESPECTING CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES (INDIGENOUS JURISDICTION AND RELATED AMENDMENTS)

Bilingual version (PDF)

Explanatory Note

(Assented to )

HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

PART 1

THE CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES ACT

C.C.S.M. c. C80 amended

1 The Child and Family Services Act is amended by this Part.

2 Subsection 1(1) is amended by adding the following

definitions:

"customary care" means care provided to an Indigenous child in a way that recognizes and reflects the unique customs of the child's Indigenous community; (« soins conformes aux traditions »)

"customary care agreement" means an agreement that meets the requirements of

section 13.3; (« entente de soins conformes aux traditions »)

"customary caregiver" means a person, other than the Indigenous child's parent or guardian, who has entered into a customary care agreement that provides for a child to reside with the person; (« personne offrant des soins conformes aux traditions »)

"customary care home" means a home or other place where one or more Indigenous children reside with a customary caregiver under a customary care agreement; (« foyer offrant des soins conformes aux traditions »)

"family support agreement" means an agreement that meets the requirements of

section 13.1; (« entente de soutien familial »)

"kinship care" means care provided under a kinship care agreement within the child's community with the participation of the child's family or persons who have significant relationships with the child or with the child's parent or guardian; (« soins offerts par un membre de la famille élargie »)

"kinship care agreement" means an agreement that meets the requirements of

section 13.2; (« entente de soins offerts par un membre de la famille élargie »)

"kinship caregiver" means a person, other than the child's parent or guardian, who has entered into a kinship care agreement that provides for a child to reside with the person; (« membre de la famille élargie offrant des soins »)

"kinship care home" means a home or other place where one or more children reside with a kinship caregiver under a kinship care agreement; (« foyer d'un membre de la famille élargie offrant des soins »)

"mandating authority" means, in relation to an agency, the authority that has mandated the agency under

section 6.1; (« régie habilitante »)

Section 2 is replaced with the following:

PART I

INTERPRETATION

Purpose of Act

2 The purpose of this Act is to support the safety, security and well-being of children through the provision of services that are designed to preserve, sustain and restore families in the least disruptive manner possible.

Principle of the best interests of the child

2.1(1) This Act is to be interpreted and administered in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child.

Primary consideration for provision of services

2.1(2) The best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in making decisions or taking of actions in the context of the provision of child and family services.

Paramount consideration for apprehension

2.1(3) The best interests of the child must be the paramount consideration in making decisions or taking of actions related to the apprehension of a child.

Factors to be considered

2.1(4) When the best interests of a child are being considered, primary consideration must be given to the child's physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being, as well as to the importance, for that child,

(

a) of having an ongoing relationship with their family;

(

b) if the child is Indigenous, of having an ongoing relationship with the Indigenous group, community or people to which the child belongs; and

(

c) of preserving the child's connections to their culture.

Other factors for consideration

2.1(5) When the best interests of a child are being considered, all factors related to the circumstances of the child must be considered, including

(

a) the child's cultural, linguistic, religious and spiritual upbringing and heritage;

(

b) the child's needs, given the child's age and stage of development, such as the child's need for stability;

(

c) the nature and strength of the child's relationship with their parent, their guardian, the person with primary responsibility for the child's day-to-day care and any member of the child's family who plays an important role in their life;

(

d) if the child is Indigenous, the importance to the child of preserving the child's cultural identity and connections to the language and territory of the Indigenous group, community or people to which the child belongs;

(

e) if the child is not Indigenous, the importance to the child of preserving the child's cultural identity and connections to the child's language and to the child's ethnic or cultural community;

(

f) the child's views and preferences, giving due weight to the child's age and maturity, unless they cannot be ascertained;

(

g) if the child is Indigenous, any plans for the child's care, including care in accordance with the customs or traditions of the Indigenous group, community or people to which the child belongs;

(

h) if the child is not Indigenous, any plans for the child's care, including care in accordance with the customs or traditions of the child's ethnic or cultural community;

(

i) any family violence and its impact on the child, including whether the child is directly or indirectly exposed to the family violence as well as the physical, emotional and psychological harm or risk of harm to the child; and

(

j) any civil or criminal proceeding, order, condition, or measure that is relevant to the safety, security and well-being of the child.

Principle of substantive equality

2.2 This Act is to be interpreted and administered in accordance with the principle of substantive equality as reflected in the following concepts:

(

a) the rights and distinct needs of a child with a disability are to be considered in order to promote the child's participation, to the same extent as other children, in the activities of their family or the group, community or people to which the child belongs;

(

b) a child must be able to exercise their rights under this Act, including the right to have their views and preferences considered in decisions that affect them, and the child must be able to do so without discrimination, including discrimination based on sex or gender identity or expression;

(

c) a child's family member must be able to exercise their rights, including the right of an Indigenous child's family to have their views and preferences considered in decisions that affect them, and the family member must be able to do so without discrimination, including discrimination based on sex or gender identity or expression;

(

d) if the child is Indigenous, the Indigenous governing body acting on behalf of the Indigenous group, community or people to which the child belongs must be able to exercise without discrimination the rights of the Indigenous group, community or people, including the right to have the views and preferences of the Indigenous group, community or people considered in decisions that affect that Indigenous group, community or people;

(

e) in order to promote substantive equality between Indigenous children and other children, a jurisdictional dispute must not result in a gap in the child and family services that are provided in relation to Indigenous children.

Principle of Indigenous cultural continuity

2.3 In the context of providing child and family services in relation to an Indigenous child, this Act is to be interpreted and administered in accordance with the principle of Indigenous cultural continuity as reflected in the following concepts:

(

a) cultural continuity is essential to the well-being of an Indigenous child, the child's family and their Indigenous group, community or people;

(

b) the transmission of the languages, cultures, practices, customs, traditions, ceremonies and knowledge of an Indigenous group, community or people is integral to cultural continuity;

(

c) an Indigenous child's best interests are often promoted when the child resides with members of their family and the culture of the Indigenous group, community or people to which the child belongs is respected;

(

d) child and family services are to be provided in a manner that does not contribute to the assimilation of the Indigenous group, community or people to which an Indigenous child belongs or to the destruction of the culture of that group, community or people;

(

e) the characteristics and challenges of the region in which an Indigenous child, their family or an Indigenous group, community or people is located are to be considered.

PART I.0.1

SERVICE DELIVERY

General principles

2.4 Services under this Act are to be provided in a manner that

(

a) takes into account the child's needs, including with respect to the child's physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being;

(

b) takes into account the child's ethnicity and culture;

(

c) allows the child to know their family origins; and

(

d) promotes substantive equality between the child and other children.

Preventive care

2.5 In the context of providing child and family services in relation to a child, to the extent that providing a service that promotes preventive care to support the child's family is consistent with the best interests of the child, the provision of that service is to be given priority over other services.

Prenatal care

2.6 To the extent that providing a prenatal service that promotes preventive care is consistent with what will likely be in the best interests of a child after the child is born, the provision of that service is to be given priority over other services in order to prevent the apprehension of the child at the time of the child's birth.

Placement priority

2.7(1) The placement of a child in the context of providing child and family services in relation to the child, to the extent that it is consistent with the best interests of the child, is to occur in the following order of priority:

(

a) with one of the child's parents;

(

b) with another adult member of the child's family;

(

c) if the child is Indigenous, with an adult who belongs to the same Indigenous group, community or people as the child;

(

d) if the child is Indigenous, with an adult who belongs to an Indigenous group, community or people other than the one to which the child belongs;

(

e) if the child is not Indigenous, with an adult who belongs to the same ethnic or cultural community as the child;

(

f) with any other adult.

Placement with or near other children

2.7(2) When the order of priority set out in subsection (1) is being applied, the possibility of placing the child with or near children who have the same parent as the child, or who are otherwise members of the child's family, must be con

Document details

Collection	Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	42-5 b032e.php
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	42 5 b032e.php
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	95432569b737fb1edf9869bb15ab075dd2c44491

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