Nunavut fixes unconstitutional child protection law

Tagak Curley, Nunavut’s health and social services minister, introduced amendments to Nunavut’s child protection law on June 9. (FILE PHOTO)

Nunavut’s legislative assembly has amended its child protection law to ensure court hearings take place promptly when children are removed from their homes, after being ordered to do so this past fall by the Nunavut Court of Justice.

“Approval of proposed amendments in Bill 9 means the time between the apprehension of a child in Nunavut from his or her home and the required judicial review of that decision will be much shorter and in line with the court’s direction and other jurisdictions in Canada,” health and social services minister Tagak Curley said June 9 in the legislature. “Bill 9 dovetails with Tamapta’s goals of helping those at risk in our communities and improving child and family services in Nunavut.”

Last November, Justice Robert Kilpatrick ruled that Nunavut’s Child and Family Services Act violated Section 7 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that individual persons are guaranteed the right to life, liberty and security of the person

In Nunavut’s old law, he found that a court order must be made 45 days after an apprehension and wouldn’t provide for any type of judicial hearing on a child apprehension until 90 days after a first court appearance.

Kilpatrick found that every other jurisdiction in Canada, child apprehensions must be screened in court within five to 15 days.

In Nunavut, that period is now set at 20 days.

Kilpatrick suspended his decision for one year to give the GN more time amend the act. Every other territory and province in Canada had changed its child protection legislation years ago to bring it into line with a decision made by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2000.

On June 9, Nunavut commissioner Edna Elias gave assent to the amended Bill 9, which now requires that any applications to a court for child protection must be made within four days after the day when the child is apprehended.

Now, an initial hearing must be held no later than nine days after the application is filed.

That’s despite comments from GN lawyers who have said Nunavut’s vast geography and chronic shortage of social workers make it difficult to meet the hearing deadlines.

Twenty of the territory’s 38 social worker positions are currently vacant.

In addition to amendments to Bill 9, Nunavut’s department of health and social services is reviewing the Child and Family Services Act, a process that started this past fall.

That review is expected to address findings in a recent report of the Auditor General on the territory’s child, youth and family services, which found a failure on the part of the GN to conduct safety checks and criminal record checks when children are placed outside the parental home.

The MLAs wrapped up their spring session wrapped June 9.

The legislative assembly meets again on October 18, slightly more than a month after a Sept. 12 by-election to fill three vacant seats.