VANCOUVER — The B.C. Court of Appeal says an Indigenous mother who had her four kids temporarily removed from her care by a child welfare agency was discriminated against because the agency's view of the woman was "tainted by stereotype."
The Appeals Court ruled Thursday that a $150,000 human-rights award should be restored after the B.C. Supreme Court overturned a decision of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal in January.
The ruling says the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society removed the woman's four children in 2016, and they were returned to her care three years later.
The mother, identified only as R.R. in the ruling, filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, claiming the decision to remove her kids was based on "protected characteristics" in the province's human-rights code "rather than her children’s best interests."
The tribunal found she was discriminated against by the society and awarded her $150,000, but the B.C. Supreme Court set aside the tribunal's decision, finding it would create "an operational conflict between" the human-rights code and the Child, Family and Community Services Act and "undermine social workers’ ability to intervene in the best interests of the child."
The three-judge panel of the Appeals Court ruled that "racial or other stereotypes have no place in decisions to intervene" by child welfare agencies, and though the society's employees acted in good faith, the impact of their conduct was discriminatory and "discrimination in law is about impact, not intent."
"Indigenous persons, and Peoples, understand better than most the potentially devastating consequences of having a child forcibly removed from a parent’s care," the ruling says.
"Good intentions, in the face of ingrained biases, stereotypes and prejudices, are not enough to justify discriminatory impact."
The appellate panel's ruling says there's no "conflict" between the human-rights code and the act, finding they "operate harmoniously."
"The (Child, Family and Community Services Act) protects children while the code ensures child protection services are delivered free of discrimination," the panel ruled.
B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender was an intervener in the case, and said in a statement Thursday that she welcomed the court's finding.
"It is essential that people experiencing discrimination in the child welfare system can rely on the Human Rights Tribunal to fully consider and address discriminatory conduct and enforce their Human Rights Code-protected rights," she said.
"I am pleased to see this confirmation that stereotypes have no place in child protection decisions."
The Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society's lawyers were not immediately available for comment on the ruling.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2025.
The Canadian Press
