Parental Responsibility Act, 1998 McLean, Allan Kenneth — Bill 19 (36th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 19, 36-2

Ontario — Bills

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Bill 19, Parental Responsibility Act, 1998

McLean, Allan Kenneth

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[36] Bill 19 Original (PDF)

B019_E

Bill 19 1998

An Act to make Parents Responsible

for the Wrongful Acts of their

Children

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative

Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1. In this Act,

child" means a person who is under the age of 18 years; ("enfant")

owner" includes a person who has the legal right of possession of the

property; ("propriétaire")

parent" means any one of the following persons who is responsible for the

care and control of a child:

1. A biological parent of the child.

2. A person described in one of paragraphs 1 to 6 of subsection 8 (1) of

the Children's Law Reform Act , unless it is proved on a balance of

probabilities that he is not the child's natural father.

3. An adoptive parent of the child.

4. An individual who has been appointed by a court as the guardian of the

child; ("père ou mère", "parents") "

property loss" means the loss experienced by an owner of property as a

result of

an act of a child as described in

section 3. ("perte

matérielle")

Purpose

2. The purpose of this Act is to ensure that parents are

held reasonably accountable for any wrong committed by their children in

relation to the property of other people.

Parent's liability

3. The parent of a child who deliberately takes, damages

or destroys the property of another person is liable for the loss suffered by

the owner of the property as a result of the activity of the child, and the

owner of the property may commence a civil action under this Act against the

parent of the child to recover damages, in an amount not exceeding $6,000, in

respect of the owner's loss.

Certificate as proof

4. In an action under this Act, a certificate of

disposition under the Young Offenders Act (Canada) purporting to be

signed by an officer of the court of record and showing that the child has

been found guilty of an offence in respect of the activity that caused the

property loss is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the

child was found guilty of an offence under that Act and that the child caused

the property loss of the owner.

Small Claims Court

5. An action under this Act shall be commenced in Small

Claims Court .

One award

6. Not more than one award of damages may be made under

this Act arising out of the same act of the same child.

Defence

(1) It is a defence to an action under this Act if the

parent establishes to the satisfaction of the court that he or she,

(

a) was exercising reasonable supervision over the child at the time the

child engaged in the activity that caused the property loss; and

(

b) made reasonable efforts in good faith to prevent or discourage the

child from engaging in the kind of activity that resulted in the property

loss.

Onus on parent

(2) The onus of establishing a defence under subsection (1) rests with the

parent.

Factors to be considered

(3) In determining whether a parent exercised reasonable supervision over

a child or made reasonable efforts to prevent or discourage the child from

engaging in the kind of activity that resulted in the property loss, the

court may consider,

(

a) the age of the child;

(

b) the prior conduct of the child;

(

c) the potential danger of the activity;

(

d) the physical or mental capacity of the child;

(

e) any psychological or other medical disorders of the child;

(

f) whether the danger arising from the child's conduct was reasonably

foreseeable by the parent;

(

g) whether the parent was responsible for the care and control of the

child at the time when the child engaged in the activity that resulted in the

property loss;

(

h) if the child was temporarily out of the care and control of the parent

when the child engaged in the activity that resulted in the property loss,

whether the parent made reasonable arrangements for the supervision of the

child in the temporary location;

(

i) whether the parent has sought to improve his or her parenting skills

by attending parenting courses or otherwise;

(

j) whether the parent has sought professional assistance for the child

designed to discourage activity of the kind that resulted in the property

loss; and

(

k) any other matter that the court considers relevant to the

determination.

Method of payment

(1) In awarding damages under this Act, the court may

order payment of the damages,

(

a) to be made in full before a fixed date; or

(

b) to be made in instalments by fixed dates, if the court considers that

a lump sum payment is beyond the financial resources of the parent or will

otherwise impose an unreasonable financial burden on the parent.

Security

(2) If in the opinion of the court security is necessary, the court may

order security to be provided by the parent in any form that the court

considers appropriate.

Insurers subrogated

9. An insurer who has paid an amount as compensation to a

person in connection with property loss is subrogated to the rights of that

person under this Act to the extent of that amount.

Right of action in addition to other rights

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the right of action

and remedies under this Act are in addition to any other right of action or

remedy that may be available.

Restitution may be considered

(2) In determining the amount of damages under this Act, the court may

consider any amount ordered as restitution under the Young Offenders

Act (Canada).

Assessment of damages in other proceedings

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) shall prevent damages awarded under this Act

from being considered when assessing damages in any other proceedings arising

out of the same activity of the child.

Commencement

11. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal

Assent.

Short title

12. The

short title of this Act is the Parental Responsibility

Act, 1998 .

Copyright © 1998

Office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

May 12, 1998

First Reading

Carried

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 19, 36-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p36 s2 bill 19 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	e955be7d870bfdaeb49224bc074070493ea91b91

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