The OCL represents children in Ontario Family Law Court proceedings, making their views and  preferences heard.  In-house social workers and clinicians do s.112 assessments on behalf of the OCL  when required. These assessments are fact-finding missions. Once an assessment is  done, it is filed in Court.  

 

If you are involved in Family Court and the OCL assessment is against you, know  that it’s not too late. With our meticulous attention to detail, experienced insights,  and strong advocacy in this area of Family Law, we can help you obtain the  outcome that is in your children's best interests. Contact us now.  

 

How the OCL Gets Involved

The Office of the Children's Lawyer is a Government Agency tasked with  representing children in Family Law proceedings, in which it is determined that  such is necessary, in order to properly have the best interests of the children  considered. 

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The involvement of the Office of the Children's Lawyer (hereinafter "the OCL")  takes two forms. First, the form of an investigation conducted by a clinician employed by the OCL. The second type of OCL involvement takes the form of the  OCL preparing what is known as a Voice of the Child Report. 

 

In certain situations, the OCL can become involved in financial matters relating to  the children. For example, if a person is trying to set aside or obviate a trust in  which the child is a beneficiary, the OCL must be notified. 

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The OCL's involvement is generally of a fact-finding nature. As such, it generally  carries a great deal of weight in terms of determining what decision a Judge will  make. However, it can be critiqued and undermined by drawing attention to the  passage of time since the investigation took place and by bringing in another expert  to critique the report.  

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A report of the OCL will generally be made pursuant to s. 112 of the Courts of  Justice Act (hereinafter "a s. 112 Report") conducted by a clinician or a Voice of  the Child Report prepared by the Lawyer. A s. 112 Report is meant to assist the  Court and the parties in determining decision-making responsibilities and parenting  time (formerly "custody" and "access"), and what arrangement in relation to these  would be in the best interests of the child(ren).  

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Decision-making responsibility generally consists of four different categories of  responsibilities, these being medical decisions, educational decisions, decisions  related to extra-curricular responsibilities and decisions related to the religious  beliefs of the child(ren). 

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Once a Judge has made a decision that the OCL is to become involved, the parties  must each serve a signed Intake Form to the Office of the Children's Lawyer within  14 days of the date of the Order. 

The OCL will use the information contained in the Intake Forms, as well as any  information received from Children's Aid Societies, in order to decide whether to  become involved in a matter. In some situations, the OCL may decline to take on a  case. In general, the OCL will only accept about 70% of cases referred to them.  

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If a decision is made by the OCL to become involved, they will then contact  collateral sources, including, but not limited to doctors, school principals and  teachers, in order to obtain necessary information. 

 

Section 112 Assessment

One form of information-gathering which is not conducted pursuant to a s. 112  Assessment is psychological testing. Once a s. 112 Report is completed, the OCL  will share this with the parties in a disclosure meeting and file it in Court. This is a  significant piece of evidence at trial, and Judges will generally give a s. 112  Assessment significant weight at trial. However, judges can make a decision  contrary to the recommendations of a s. 112 Report, which will generally take  place where the s. 112 Report is shown to be weak, such as when assumptions and  recommendations that go into preparing the Report in question are flawed, or if  there is some other relevant issue, such as one of the issues referenced in paragraph  2 above.

 

If a party disagrees with a s. 112 Report, they can, within 30 days, file a formal  dispute of the s. 112 Report. The OCL considers the dispute and may change their  recommendation accordingly.

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Section 30 Assessment

Psychological testing can, however, be conducted pursuant to another type of  assessment, this being a s. 30 Assessment, which refers to s. 30 of the Children's  Law Reform Act (hereinafter "the CLRA"). S. 30 of the CLRA governs the  appointment of assessors in relation to assessments of decision-making  responsibility and parenting time (formerly "custody" and "access"). These are  voluntary assessments, meaning that for them to take place they must be agreed to  by all parties in advance, unless a judge makes a Court Order mandating such an  assessment.

  

S. 30 Assessments are generally conducted by a psychologist, psychiatrist or social  worker and the parents must share the costs of this assessment. This is in contrast  to other operations of the OCL, which the parties do not need to pay for  themselves. 

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In Canepa v Canepa, 2018 ONSC 5154, the Respondent brought a 14B Motion ("in  writing") requesting an Order for a Voice of the Child Report, which was objected  to by the Applicant on procedural and substantive grounds. The parties had been in a relationship for five years and had two children, aged eight and six years old at  the time of the decision. A key issue was the Respondent's parenting time with the  children. 

 

Among the determinations made by the Honourable Justice Kiteley were that the  subject matter of a Motion for a Voice of the Child Report was procedural and  uncomplicated, and could properly be dealt with by a 14B Motion (Paragraph 16);  that a regulatory authority exists for a Judge to order a Voice of the Child Report absent the consent of the parties, pursuant to Rule 20.1(3) of the Family Law Rules  (Paragraph 18); that it is acceptable to order a Voice of the Child Report even  where a child is somewhat younger than seven years old (Paragraph 22) and that it  is appropriate to introduce a professional third party where the parents cannot  negotiate material changes (Paragraph 21). It was also noted that there is  sometimes a concern about a Voice of the Child Report being used by an alienating  parent to get the other parent out of the child's life, but that was not the case here. 

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OCL in Child Protection Proceedings

OCL will usually be involved in Child Protection proceedings in which a child is  over six years old. The OCL will generally put forward the Child's views and  preferences. In addition to their role in preparing s. 112 Reports and s. 30  Assessments, the OCL also can appear at Motions and Trials to argue in favour of  the position being taken by them in this proceeding. The OCL's role is especially  vital in cases where parental alienation is suspected, as they can take the role of a  neutral third party in order to determine if such alienation is, in fact, taking place. 

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The one type of situation where an OCL would almost always be helpful is when  the Children's Aid Society or Family and Child Services (CAS or FACS,  respectively) intrudes and apprehends a child from the care of a parent. In those  situations, the overall views and preferences is almost always that the child wants  to come back to the care of the parent from whose care the child was forcefully  apprehended (often with police assistance and involvement).

 

OCL- Legal Representation for Your Child(ren)  

It is astounding how often a child is forcefully separated from a parent, placed in a  stranger's home, and the ensuing emotional harm that this causes the child is  ignored or completely disregarded in CAS or FACS proceedings, to the detriment  of the child and the child's best interests. This is exactly the sort of situation where good OCL Counsel can communicate the child's perspective, and how expanding  access or returning a child to the care of the parent or person who had charge of the  child, would be beneficial and in the child’s best interests, in accordance with their  emotional, physical and psychological needs. This is an important piece of  evidence that can tilt the balance in the parents' favor, and in FACS and CAS  litigation, every advantage can make a difference.

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