Minors have a voice, thanks to the Office of the Children’s Lawyer

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • The Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) is an integral part of the justice system that gives minors input into family law matters, says Toronto family lawyer A. Julia P. Tremain.

“The OCL gives children a voice. It can also be a way to share information with them because they may often feel they do not know what is going on in child protection or custody and access cases,” says Tremain, who once supervised lawyers in the office and is now on the roster of attorneys available across the province to handle such cases.

“It is extremely satisfying work and the children are lovely. Some of them have many challenges and sometimes it is really sad,” she adds. “But it is always great to meet up with them and offer some support and guidance. Most of us who serve in the office really enjoy it for that reason.”

An independent law office

The OCL is an independent law office under the Ministry of the Attorney General delivering “justice programs on behalf of children.” The office represents the interests of a child under the age of 18 in matters and court cases in Ontario involving:

• parenting time, contact and decision-making responsibility for children
• child protection
• civil cases (for example, personal injury, motor vehicle accidents and medical malpractices)
• estates and trusts
• requests for minors’ funds

Tremain, a partner with Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation, says there are about 400 lawyers available across the province. They apply to join the OCL panel and have been vetted and specially trained. 

“We all do some child protection work outside of OCL,” she says. “We are familiar with the operation of the legislation.”

The office is called in by the court to represent children independent of their parents.

Judge can make an order for representation

“In a child protection file, for example, if a judge makes an order for the OCL to represent the child, it is mandatory,” she tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “It is a very robust office. Other provinces have something along the same lines but I don’t believe what is available is quite as thorough as we have in Ontario.” 

There is more to representing a child in a custody and access or protection case than asking where they want to live, Tremain says.

“It is not as simple as that,” she explains. “You want to get to know the child. You want to talk about the situation in each parent’s home. The types of activities available at each setting. You want to find out if there is anything that the child would want to see handled differently.”

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The children may be able to discuss problems with the OLC lawyer that they may not be able to bring up with their parents, Tremain says.

“The child may want to go to one home but the parent has a serious drinking addiction. We can explore different options,” she says. “The child may be able to open up to their lawyer about the problem and sometimes parents listen to that and are able to make changes in their lives.”

Tremain says children can be more attuned to what is causing the anguish in the family than their parents realize.

‘Children already have it figured out’

“Children may have a better handle on what is going on because their parents can become frustrated and cannot see beyond their own anger,” she says. “Many times, the children already have it figured out.”

An OLC lawyer can be especially helpful when it comes to child protection orders, says Tremain. These cases can be emotionally challenging and the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) may not be seen in the best light.

“We are not the Children’s Aid. We have a different role. We are often trusted in a way that the CAS may not,” she says. “I am not saying Children’s Aid should not be trusted. It is just that people can be suspicious of it.

“We cut through some of that. We give the child some input in the child protection process when they are potentially being removed from a parent’s care. At the very least, those children get the chance through us to tell a judge what they have to say.” 

The OLC may be able to suggest living arrangement alternatives after meeting with a child, Tremain says.

“There might be an aunt or an uncle that the CAS hasn’t explored as an option for a placement,” she says. “The child may be really close to their grandparents and want to try living with them. We can raise that with the society. 

‘We can weigh in on some of the parenting time’

“We can weigh in on some of the parenting time if the child is placed in foster care,” Tremain adds. “Depending on the child’s wishes we could also advocate for more frequent visits.”

She says it is important that a child has some input if they are being removed from their parent’s home.

“We would obviously present the child’s wishes at a trial and advocate for the child to go home to their parents if that is what they want,” says Tremain. “And the judge will take that into consideration when making that decision.”

She says the OCL can also be asked by the court to get involved in a decision-making responsibility (formerly known as custody) and parenting time dispute between parents, also referred to as a section 112 assessment. This would be handed by a social worker retained by the office who would examine the family dynamics and prepare a report for court.

In the end, even though the clients are minors, their wishes may carry a great deal of weight, Tremain says.

“It is all about the best interests of that child,” she says.