B.C. tribunal's award of $150K to Indigenous mom in discrimination case being challenged by child welfare agency
B.C. tribunal's award of $150K to Indigenous mom in discrimination case being challenged by child welfare agency
A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal hearing room is shown in this file image from March 29, 2010. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
A Vancouver child welfare agency is appealing a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruling that found an Indigenous mom's children were wrongfully taken from her, awarding her $150,000 in damages for discrimination.
The Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society has filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a judicial review of the November 2022 decision, alleging the tribunal overstepped its authority and ruled on matters outside of its jurisdiction.
"We understand that this step is very difficult, but it is necessary to ensure Indigenous children are protected as intended by the legislation and our decision in no way reflects on the individual who filed the HRT complaint,” said the agency's board chair Linda Stiller in a statement posted online.
“While we recognize the pain the complainant identified during the hearing, our duty is to ensure that children’s rights are also protected.”
VACFSS is one of the agencies in B.C. that is given responsibility for child protection matters in Indigenous communities and has the authority to apply and enforces the Child, Family and Community Services Act. The delegation of this authority to non-governmental organizations is meant to respond to the vast over-representation of Indigenous children and youth who are in government care.
As the tribunal decision noted, 66 per cent of children in care in British Columbia are Indigenous, even though Indigenous children make up only 10 per cent of the province's child population.
"VACFSS regrets having to file a judicial appeal on this case, particularly as an Indigenous-led agency committed to restorative practice," Stiller said in her statement about the appeal.
The petition to the court outlines several ways in which the agency alleges the tribunal overstepped, including that it made determinations on child protection matters, undermined provincial court orders, and denied VACFSS the right to a fair hearing.
The agency will also be challenging the amount of compensation ordered.
"Given the significant legal issues raised by VACFSS in the judicial review, the organization has also asked that the amount of the financial award be reconsidered by the court," the statement continues.
THE TRIBUNAL DECISION
The case was brought by a mother referred to by the initials R.R. whose four children were placed in foster care, where they remained for more than two years.
In R.R.'s case, the tribunal found "VACFSS did not have a reasonable basis to conclude that R.R.’s children were in need of protection."
Tribunal member Devin Cousineau ruled that the apprehension of the woman's children and the subsequent limits on her access to them – which included months-long periods of no contact whatsoever – was discriminatory, rooted in stereotypes about and prejudice against her as an Indigenous mom who had experienced mental health issues.
"This is an unprecedented complaint. It exposes systemic forces of discrimination and their profound impacts on an Indigenous mother," she wrote.
Lawyer Aleem Bharmal with the Community Legal Assistance Society, who served as R.R.'s co-counsel, questions the agency's decision to appeal.
"Our client feels re-traumatized by this decision," he said in an email to CTV News.
"We do not agree that this step is in the best interest of Indigenous children and, rather, that allowing this human rights decision to stand and complying with it would have helped improve the agency’s services, and the child welfare system more generally, to be less biased and more equitable."
He says the organization plans to "vigorously defend" the initial ruling in B.C. Supreme Court.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
As the federal government looks to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., an eastern Ontario mayor says his city needs more help from Ottawa to deal with the influx of asylum seekers arriving through irregular crossings like Roxham Road.
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
A Victoria man’s life of crime has turned into one of survival, hope and advocacy amid ongoing conversations in the community about how best to tackle public safety matters.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has cited an energy company for causing a series of earthquakes, including the largest recorded tremblor in the province's history.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has cited an energy company for causing a series of earthquakes, including the largest recorded tremblor in the province's history.
An Ontario man said he was shocked when his truck was stolen not once but twice, and the second time it was taken he was surprised to discover he was no longer covered for theft.
For the first time, the owner of a building in Old Montreal has responded to questions about the fire — through his lawyer — addressing allegations that the building was unsafe.
The political class at the National Assembly has condemned the 'violent' and 'hateful' remarks that columnist Gilles Proulx allegedly made about Quebec solidaire MNAs during Richard Martineau's show on Qub radio in recent weeks.
Manitoba First Nation police have arrested a man connected with a shooting on March 19 on Long Plain First Nation that resulted in the community going on lockdown.
Manitoba’s labour force is growing at a rate to supply enough workers for available positions into 2026, according to the province’s labour market outlook.
An alleged victim of a former staff member of Legacy Christian Academy can now be identified after she successfully petitioned in court to have a publication ban lifted.
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s provincial budget, school divisions in Saskatchewan were expecting funding levels to increase, with the province repeatedly touting its $1 billion surplus.
A recent report from the province’s privacy commissioner says the Métis Addictions Council of Saskatchewan Inc. (MACSI) failed to take appropriate steps after patient treatment files were discovered in a recycling bin.
The Tim Houston PC government remains firm in their promise they'll fix the health-care system by spending more taxpayer money on health than any previous government before.
Potato farmers on Prince Edward Island are taking the federal government to court due to the decision to restrict the movement of P.E.I. seed potatoes.
The new provincial budget features items specific to southwestern Ontario, including a new English public elementary school in London, Ont. that will serve 556 students and include 88 licensed childcare spaces.
A young Strathroy, Ont. man believes there's a promising way forward in the effort to fight his disease. But, he's being told, right now, that path isn't open to him. Friends and family are stepping up to try and make a case for Kyle McPhee to receive immunotherapy treatments.
The co-owners of a new liquidation store in North Bay, Samuel Quesnel and Chloé Boivenue, say they want to bring a treasure hunt shopping experience to the city.
The ‘Catch the Ace’ jackpot is still up for grabs in Hagersville. There was no winner Thursday night so the total prize money is now an estimated $1,526,067.
The resurrection of Zellers is officially underway with the Cambridge location opening its doors to eager shoppers who lined up ahead of the store's official reopening.
A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal hearing room is shown in this file image from March 29, 2010. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
