EJP v. SB

EJP v. SB

Court inspected the Parental Capacity Assessment and concluded that the probative value of pages 2-12 (detailed personal and mental health history) was minimal for access issues and was outweighed by the mother's privacy interests, while pages 1 and 13-16 contained information specifically about the children's needs...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2013 NSSC 174
Parties
Petitioner: EJP; Petitioner: BLP; Respondent: SB; Respondent: LP
Court
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
11 June 2013
Procedural Posture
Maintenance and Custody Act Proceeding (grandparents Seeking Custody) With Related Children and Family Services Act Protection Material / Oral Application for Order for Production During Pre Settlement/settlement Conference Stage
Outcome
Partial production ordered: limited disclosure of specified pages of the Parental Capacity Assessment
Legal Topics
Parental Capacity Assessment, Production of Documents, Access/parenting Time, Best Interests of the Child
Source Language
english
Family Law Child Protection Privacy Law Parental Capacity Assessment Production of Documents Access/parenting Time Best Interests of the Child

Source-derived case record

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Parties

EJP

Petitioner

BLP

Petitioner

SB

Respondent

LP

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Maintenance and Custody Act Proceeding (grandparents Seeking Custody) With Related Children and Family Services Act Protection Material / Oral Application for Order for Production During Pre Settlement/settlement Conference Stage

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a Parental Capacity Assessment ordered under the Children and Family Services Act must be produced to third parties in a Maintenance and Custody Act proceeding
  2. 2 How to balance the respondent mother's privacy interests against the probative value of the assessment for determining access
  3. 3 What portions, if any, of the assessment are relevant and should be disclosed

Ratio Decidendi

Court inspected the Parental Capacity Assessment and concluded that the probative value of pages 2-12 (detailed personal and mental health history) was minimal for access issues and was outweighed by the mother's privacy interests, while pages 1 and 13-16 contained information specifically about the children's needs and the adults' ability to meet them and therefore must be produced; accordingly the Minister was ordered to release pages 1 and 13-16 and pages 2-12 were withheld.

Court Disposition

Partial production ordered: limited disclosure of specified pages of the Parental Capacity Assessment

Orders

  • Minister of Community Services ordered to release pages 1 and 13-16 of the Parental Capacity Assessment to the Applicants
  • Pages 2-12 of the Parental Capacity Assessment (detailed maternal personal and mental health history) are excluded from production