Discretion and Discrimination - Admission in Apprehension Hearings for Child Protection Matters
In 2022, Indigenous people accounted for 7.7% of children under 15 years old; however, they represented 53.8% of children in foster care.”Additionally, over 50% of Indigenous children in foster care lived with non-Indigenous parents. These statistics raise enormous concern, as even with the TRC Calls to Action and Bill C-92, Indigenous children continue to be taken away from their families and culture at an alarming rate.
Undeniable Harms: Expert Evidence, Parental Capacity, and Cultural Bias in Child Protection Cases
Section 37(2) of the Child and Family Services Act (the “CFSA”) provides that, “in order to determine the best interests of the child, the judge or master may direct an investigation” into the matter. In child protection cases, where a Child and Family Services (“CFS”) agency seeks to establish a permanent order of guardianship over a child, the investigation will take the form of a parental capacity assessment. Parental capacity assessments (“PCAs”) are a form of expert evid
