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Edmonton Family Prov Ct Town Hall

Stephen Harfield
  Queck & Associates
   Sherwood Park, Alberta


Hi All,
For those who could not attend, there was a town hall today at the courthouse for Provincial Court Family. Here are some condensed notes about what was discussed:

1) Counsel for Children

-clients need to follow up. One parent needs to call Legal Aid and provide a copy of the Order appointing children's counsel.
-It can be wise to send a copy as well to Zelma Hardin to ensure nothing gets lost.
-it is a good idea to provide documents on the file as early as possible - counsel does not want to ask children potentially harmful questions
-Legal Aid needs contact information for the clients. Do not just assume if they are under a Legal Aid certificate that their information is easy to locate.
-advise right away if psychologists are involved.
-ensure to copy children's counsel on all emails and letters (especially involving court dates)
-the court will be looking into better processes for the appointment of children under 6 or 7 years old. In the mean time, ensure if you are seeking this that you set out good reasons why.
-Clauses of order - ensure the judges know if there are any issues with clauses in the order (eg, counsel providing summaries to court without being a witness). If there are disputes, or potentially controversial clauses, bring the judge's eyes to the issue.
-Apparently the clerks are developing a form to assist with the appointment of children's counsel, so watch out for those developments.

2) Lead times

-overall, things are taking longer. currently 1.2 day hearings are booking in January, full days in June. JDRs in March, 2020.
-try to seek creative ways around.
-if dates are no longer needed, advise the courts as soon as possible so they may be used for something else.

3) Substitutional Service on Government Agencies

-MEP has a procedure. But be aware that they only use the last known address on file, no guarantees of actual service. They report to the court about what was done, and this should show up on the court file for the judge reviewing.
-do not assume service on other government agencies will be sufficient (e.g. Alberta Works, Child Services). Often they have limited contact with the individuals.
-be less complacement overall with substitutional service. Your affidavit needs to set out attempts at personal service, why it is impractical, what other means there are that would get to their attention. Email is convenient, but a judge may want assurances this will be good service.

-side note about bringing CFS caseworkers to court. Your Order may not want to mention the particular case worker, as they may not be available. Instead your Order should say "any representative of CFS with knowledge of the file". This creates further flexibility to accommodate court dates.

4) Alberta Unified Family Court

-still in progress, lots of committees.
-Target date has been September 1, 2020 - not sure this will be met, discussions ongoing.
-we should hear more about what is happening in the New Year. THEY ARE WORKING ON IT.

Hope this helps (and please anyone who attended correct or add anything as necessary!)


2 4 years ago

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