Mr. Beck from Canada Court watch provided some helpful information about Section 51 of the CFSA act in Ontario which some parents will find helpful. Family Court / Child Protection matters adjournments cannot be for more than 30 days without consent of the parties.

A long adjournment w... access page ...

Mr. Beck from Canada Court watch provided some helpful information about Section 51 of the CFSA act in Ontario which some parents will find helpful. Family Court / Child Protection matters adjournments cannot be for more than 30 days without consent of the parties.

A long adjournment will give child protection workers more time to harass the family and to dig up more information on the family which will be used against them at the next court appearance.

(It is now section 94 not 51 under the new legislation but the same aspect applies just the section number has changed) akPATsy April 2018

Child and Family Services Act (Ontario)
Part 111 – Child Protection - Hearings and Orders

Analysis of Clause 51.(1) Clause 51.(1) (a) & (b) states the following:
Adjournments

51.(1) The court shall not adjourn a hearing for more than thirty days,
(a) unless all the parties present and the person who will be caring for the child during the
adjournment consent; or (b) if the court is aware that a party who is not present at the hearing objects to the longer adjournment. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 51 (1).

(Date: March 18, 2016) Analysis and review of the Legislation

Clause 51.(1) (a) & (b) of the Act are fairly clear in their wording and do provide some important protection for parents who have had a child apprehended into care or the subject of a Court imposed supervision order for a CAS agency, especially under short notice or an apprehension of a child without prior notice.


Under the Act, an adjournment in a child protection court hearing cannot be adjourned for more than 30 days unless ALL parties in the court and the person who will be caring for the child consent to an adjournment for more than the 30 days. The use of the word, “shall” in the legislation indicates that neither the court nor a CAS agency have the discretion to adjourn a child protection matter for more than 30 days without clear informed consent from all of the parties.


This section is frequently ignored by child protection workers and their lawyers as most parents are unaware of this specific section of the Child and Family Services Act. . Parents who are unaware of this clause in the Act may be led to believe that they have no other choice except to agree to whatever adjournment is requested by the child protection agency lawyers. In many cases just before the hearing parents are presented a consent order for them to agree to. Many parents feel pressured to sign these consent orders before the actual court hearing.


In many cases, legal aid lawyers and/or duty counsel lawyers will tell their clients to just go along with what child protection lawyers want. In general duty counsel lawyers and legal aid lawyer just want to collect their money and to do the least amount of work.


In many cases, the child protection workers want to delay the next court hearing as long as possible for the following reasons:

More time for workers to harass and to build evidence to use against the family A long adjournment will give child protection workers more time to harass the family and to dig up more information on the family which will be used against them at the next court appearance. It is common that once the child rotection agency obtains a court order at the first court appearance and an adjournment is obtained, child protection workers will instead of helping the family, make it their primary goal to build a stronger case to support the case of the child protection agency. In many cases false information will be fabricated by child protection workers as they work hard to support the agency and not the parents.

More funding for the child protection agency and its workers The longer that a child protection case file is open and/or a child placed into foster care, the more provincial money that the agency, its workers and its lawyers will obtain from the taxpayers. Workers get to keep their jobs as well. Below is an article rom the media about the Peel Children’s Aid Society keeping files open to maintain funding.


More time for child protection workers to establish a new “status quo” for children taken into care



The longer a child has been taken into care, the more time will the child protection agency have to establish a new “status quo” for the child who has been taken into care. At the next court appearance the child protection workers will often report that the child who is in foster care had adjusted very well to foster care and is very happy to be in foster care. Of course, these are the standard lies that CAS workers use to justify their jobs and having apprehended a child. After telling the court that the child loves his/her new foster home, the child protection workers will then recommend that the child stay even longer in care. Everyone in the system keeps making more money!

The longer a child remains in care the more difficult it is for the parents to get their child back home after a status quo has been established. It is not uncommon for CAS lawyers at the first court hearing to ask for adjournments longer than 30 days.


Adjournments can be longer than 30 days but ONLY with the consent of the parties It is not uncommon for CAS lawyers to pressure parents just before a court hearing to get them to sign a consent agreement which contains certain terms and conditions. The lawyers know that the parents are under the most pressure at their first court appearance, especially if the parents were served court documents just before the court. During these conferences just before court, the CAS agency may try to get parents to sign a consent agreeing to a longer adjournment time than the 30 days as required under legislation.
To prevent an adjournment from being more than 30 days, all that parents have to do is to quote section 51.(1) of the Act to the judge. This is the law and the judge cannot, and should not, make an order which is in violation to the law in Ontario. Parents who have had their child apprehended should
ensure that they mount an effective defence and return to court and be ready to defend themselves as soon as possible within the 30 days and be vigilant not to consent to adjournments longer than 30 days without very good reasons for doing so.


Don’t let your lawyer pressure you into an adjournment if you don’t want it Don’t forget that in many cases, legal aid lawyers and/or duty counsel lawyers will tell their clients to just go along with what child protection lawyers want. In general duty counsel lawyers and legal aid lawyer just want to collect their money and to do the least amount of work. If you have a lawyer and do not want an adjournment longer than 30 days then make sure that your lawyer brings this up before the court and quotes this section of the CFSA.

Links to attachment(s):
brainsyntax.com/AnalysisofSection51ofCFSAAct.pdf

you can file an information yourself..... the court can n...

not reporting may not do any immediate good for your own situation but it just might help someone else in a similar situation down the road. it is our responsibility to use the complaint procedure and it is their duty to respond appropriately. so, if nothing good comes of a complaint, which ... access page ...

not reporting may not do any immediate good for your own situation but it just might help someone else in a similar situation down the road. it is our responsibility to use the complaint procedure and it is their duty to respond appropriately. so, if nothing good comes of a complaint, which all of us here know it probably won't, the bottom line is that the person making the complaint has brought their good faith to the table in an effort to resolve a conflict....that will always be on the record and leave a paper trail..

On April 16, 2015, the Supreme Court released its decisio...

Where can I find information on how to be added as a party to a Children's Aid Society Court proceeding in Ontario.....from another province


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A Form 14A, General Affidavit is a document someone who is already a party to, or listed as a witness in, wi... access page ...

Where can I find information on how to be added as a party to a Children's Aid Society Court proceeding in Ontario.....from another province


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A Form 14A, General Affidavit is a document someone who is already a party to, or listed as a witness in, will swear to, before a commissioner, and then that document that will be brought before the Courts.

To be added as a party, please review who the applicant & respondent are... look up Family Law Rules.. particularly Rule 7-- "parties", subsection (5)-- "party added by court order"..

Motions are what grab the Court's attention and lets It know something is "up"; ... the thing is, Motions can't just be brought up willy-nilly, especially by folks who haven' been granted standing in the matter before the Court, right? -- and I'd hazard an educated guess here, but wouldn't one, or both, parties have to grant consent to have an other party added? Plus, does it not make sense to expect the Court to demand evidence that the person wishing to have standing as a party, prove that it's essential to the proceedings???


Papa Inbc You can try just showing up at one hearing and try a verbal application, indicate to both parties you want to be added to the style of cause as an applicant, and one or both of the parties listed on the style of cause will speak on your behalf. If there is no problem, then by CONSENT, the order is drawn up and the judge will sign it. Even the clerks notes would be fine to note the transition, and from that point forward, your name appears on the style of cause and you get served any future notices (and potentially, costs).

If, however, at least one party squawks, then a written application with supporting affidavit would be needed. It is pretty simple from what I saw.

The case example I saw, was a child protection situation where one parent could not be found, was not served or added to the style of cause in the initial proceedings. By request, the missing parent was added.


Cheryl Watson you need an affidavit and you must know that if you file a motion you need to attach an affidavit..which is itself evidence and any other evidence attaches to the affidavit as exhibits...

anyhow, the matter has been resolved

Sources:
http://www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca/english/family/

In Ontario it is called a joinder and the Atty General Site for Ont. had info. in the past on this.

it is in this law. hit ctrl and the letter f when you open the file and then type in the word joinder in the search box.
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900194_e.htm

Cas exists to help children in need of protection and wil...

please see http://www.suewrongdoers.com  if you are willing to do a lot of the work yourself in filing a claim for damages, filing papers, serving respondents etc. This group will help you step by step and although there is a membership fee, it can ... access page ...

please see http://www.suewrongdoers.com  if you are willing to do a lot of the work yourself in filing a claim for damages, filing papers, serving respondents etc. This group will help you step by step and although there is a membership fee, it can be waived...please check it out as I want to see CAS workers get what they got coming and start building precedents. Canadian law is based on common law but most of courts don't want to use it because it is for the benefit of the people not the gov.

as we read, study, probe, discuss, etc...we are becoming ...