BRITISH COLUMBIA
Supreme Court

BRITISH COLUMBIA - Supreme Court: British Columbia (Superintendent of Family and Child Services) v. C.J. [1994] B.C.J. No. 1952

FACTS:  The mother, C.J., was appealing a previous ruling that had placed her children in permanent custody of the province.  The previous trial found that C.J. was unable to care for her two children, who both suffered from FAS.  C.J. appealed the decision on the grounds that the trial involved neither a parenting assessment nor an evaluation of the feelings of the children towards their mother.         

HELD:  During the proceedings, the judge concluded that C. J. needed to improve her parenting skills in order to adequately meet the special needs of her children.  However, the appeal judge believed that the trial judge had erred.  Consequently, the judge agreed to place the children in temporary custody of the Superintendent for a period of eight months, after which the situation would be re-evaluated.