“The child welfare system in Ontario is broken,” Campbell wrote.
“The patchwork of child welfare legislation spread across Canada is not working.”
The OCL is facing a tidal-wave of requests and is so overwhelmed that panel lawyers are often rushed into a case at the last hour and cannot possibly perform their duties adequately before expected to participate meaningfully on behalf of children embroiled in a process that need their skills and training.
Campbell apologized to the parents “on behalf of the very system that perpetrated this upon you.”
Lawyers say Campbell’s decision is unusual, as rather than simply making a ruling on narrow legal issues, the judge took the opportunity to comment on the system at large.
“He revealed the underbelly and the weaknesses of the family court system,” says Steven Benmor, a Toronto family lawyer, who was not involved in the case.
Benmor says Campbell’s criticisms of the child welfare system are accurate when it comes to Ontario, as the system is broken when it fails even one family.
“When these people fall through the cracks, it reveals a weakness in the overall system,” he says.
In this case, but one example of a broken system, the parents and K. have been consumed and trampled by the Frankenstein process we have created and allowed to become unmanageable.
https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/do...7onsc1022.html
Comment