The law in Canada is strict in handling cases related to child care failures. When a child is noticed not getting a nourishing environment, or being treated with negligence and abuse, a report can lead to a parental-unfit charge. Whether the reason involves real aggression or just incapability, the court may address it with rehabilitation for the child and restricted visitation.
So, if you are failing at parenting or are currently facing such an unfit charge, you should mind your steps.
This article will enlighten you by
- Defining an unfit parent
- Disclosing signs of unsuitable parents
- Describing an unsafe home
- Determining parental fitness
- Distinguishing gender-based considerations
- Different guidelines between provinces
Let’s begin
What Does “Unfit Parent” Mean in Canadian Law?
The Family Court marks a parent as unfit when they are found in an unstable financial condition, behavioural issues, an undisciplined lifestyle, abusive and aggressive intentions, and criminal engagements.
The court sends representatives for a custody evaluation in the home after getting an unfit report from a child welfare agency.
The report may reflect concerns, like:
- Continuous failure to maintain a sober and sound lifestyle
- Proof or claim of regular mental or physical aggression
- Allegation on the mental soundness of the parents
- Witness to parents committing a crime
Signs of an Unsuitable Parent
When can you call a parent unfit? It’s pretty basic. Fitness in terms of parenting refers to the ability to foster a child in safety, care, and attention.
It’s about making sure that the child is growing into a responsible citizen, with the right mindset and education.
A parent becomes unfit by failing to maintain a suitable environment. There could be many reasons underplay. But the court addresses only those that originate from deliberate choices or medical conditions.
Such as:
Unsober: Drunkenness among parents is a critical sign of parental unfitness. The court may settle for a deadline by obligating parents to achieve full recovery. Failure would stand as a punishable act.
Abusive: Improper, rough, and aggressive treatment, direct or passive, is an abuse. It’s among the most telling signs that the child is not safe and has no future in the care of such a parent.
Impaired: Though fortuitous, still losing practical sense, to a degree that it can be clinically certified as madness, identifies parents as incapable. The same is true for parents with physical limitations.
Mal-practicioner: While engaging in criminal activities is, by itself, punishable. In family court, the impact of such activities on the child gets attention. If it threatens a child’s mental and moral development, it’s unfit.
Unwilling: If the parents decline to support, take responsibility, and care for the child, and keep showing negligence toward its overall welfare, the court considers it as their unsuitability.
Signs of an Unsafe Home Environment
The term “Unfit Home” is often interchangeable with “Unfit Parent.” Apart from a few criteria, they explain the same situation.
Violence: When parents show violence, either between themselves, towards others, or towards the child, it makes the home unlivable.
Questionable Lifestyle: If any of the parents engages in extra-marital relations, even if it doesn’t lead to a divorce, it sets a bad example in front of the child. Such an environment, for its negative moral implications on the child’s mind, becomes unsafe. It also includes excessive drug usage at home.
How Courts Determine Parental Fitness
The court usually proceeds to a parental fitness charge by first responding to a petition or complaint. Anyone from the neighbourhood, close relatives, or even concerned individuals can file such a petition through a child’s welfare society or agency.
In response, the Family Court orders an investigation. Representatives from the child protective services or an appointed custody visit the alleged home.
To check the validity of the petition, the custody
- Interviews parents, the child, siblings, other members, teachers, and classmates
- Assesses living and financial conditions
- Checks if responsibilities are met
- Looks for any signs of physical abuse
- Consults physicians and psychologists if relevant
Upon the evaluation, the custody sends a report to the court, which may lead to a hearing session. Based on the custody report and final hearing, with participation of witnesses, the court reaches its verdict. The parameters of judgements are the same as mentioned above, as the signs of unfitness.
When any of the parents are deemed unfit, they may lose custody of the child. A father can lose child custody if he is unfit.
The same goes for the mother; she may lose child custody if the court determines that she is unfit.
Gender-Specific Considerations
In Canada, it’s a universal practice to treat a crime by law, without imposing any racial or gender-oriented biases.
However, due to the specific manner of certain cases, like unfit parents, both parents face a few anomalies.
For a mother, currently single, without an income source, taking financial responsibilities for a child’s growth and education may come with additional challenges. But the court seems to meet her condition with the same regulations it uses for a father’s incapacity.
For a father, becoming the only liable person for a child’s financial and other types of necessities may seem unfair. But it’s the legal and social norm.
Provincial Differences Across Canada
Province-wise, some key parameters related to an unfit parent case vary. Here is a brief peek into them:
Ontario
In Ontario, petitions against child abuse are carried forward by the Children’s Aid Society (CAS). A social organization acting under the Child, Youth, Family Services Act (CYFSA), 2017.
The same act governs the Family Court. It can handle child protection petitions separately or alongside other family cases. The court identifies anyone under 18 as a child and issues permanent or temporary care orders to protect the child’s rights.
Saskatchewan
While the procedure doesn’t deviate from the usual steps. The associative and responsible bodies run under different names. Here are notable distinctions:
- Petitions are signed by the Ministry of Social Services
- Child protection falls under the jurisdiction of the Child and Family Services Act
- The law treats anyone under 16 as a child
- The protective bodies work together with the local police
- The provincial court receives all related petitions
Manitoba
Manitoba has a unique approach to managing petitions.
- The Child and Family Services (CFS) investigates complaints
- The Child and Family Services Act governs the CFS through CFS authorities, including Indigenous ones
- CFS agencies provide counselling, supervision, and support according to the court order
- The court, while navigating a case, expects detailed risk assessments, case plans, and records of past orders
What Happens When Found Unfit
So, what happens if the court finds the petition valid? Does it punish a parent? It depends. But as per the general procedure
- If the parent is a substance user, the court may prescribe a rehabilitation and take other measures to ensure the child’s safe meanwhile
- If the case is found trivial, the court, in participation with the parents, may devise a step-up parenting plan, giving the parents prove their seriousness and goodwill
- A parent may lose custody to the other or a legal guardian
- Based on severity, the court may order a temporary custody order or an emergency custody order before the child goes to foster care.
Get Professional Legal Counsel from expert Child Custody Lawyers in Regina today!
Wrapping Up
A child is not responsible for the environment they grow up in. As they can’t break out the toxic situations, sparked by their parents’ mental, behavioural, and ideological misalignments. But as a future valued citizen, every child is subject to child protection or care facilities in their country. In Canada, the “unfit parent” or “unfit home” is treated with profound seriousness. However, due to the emotional nature of the case, the court first attempts to realign the parents’ lifestyle to the best interest of the child. When severe, these cases may result in a custody loss or child removal.
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