B.C. mom says home-alone ruling undermines parents' rights

A B.C. mother says a court ruling that her eight-year-old son cannot stay at home alone after school could end up undermining the rights of parents across Canada.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Children and Family Development learned that the Terrace mother — identified only as B.R. in court documents — was leaving her son alone at home after school.

After B.R. refused to stop leaving her son home alone, officials obtained an interim supervision order from a judge.

The mother appealed that decision, but a B.C. Supreme Court judge upheld it, and ruled the interim order should stand until a decision based on a protection hearing is released in November.

• Read the full court judgment

B.R. told CBC News the government and the courts are trying to impose a home-alone age limit that's never been written in law.

"If they win, it sets precedent that no child under the age of 10 can be left home alone. It's rather disturbing a state is going to walk into a home and tell a parent, 'No, we make the decisions. You don't,'" said B.R. on Wednesday.

B.R.'s lawyer Wade MacGregor told CBC News a hearing in B.C. provincial court was completed Sept. 22 and the judge has reserved decision until Nov 19.

MacGregor has also asked the B.C. Ombudsman to look into the case.

'It's about every family across Canada'

"I don't think this is just about me and my family. I think it's about every family across Canada," B.R. told CBC News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

"My son was capable. I ensured his safety. There are people who can't afford daycare, single parents such as I am, who need to make certain arrangements and trust their child home alone for an hour or two. They're called latch-key kids. This is a practice all across Canada. It should still be up to the parents to choose," she said.

B.R. says so far she has paid $20,000 in legal fees to defend herself.

In the meantime she has re-enrolled her son in after school care, but said even he questions why he is there.

"Right now his question to me is, 'Why can't I stay home alone like my friends?'"

No specific age in legislation

Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux confirmed in an email to CBC News there is no specific age in federal or provincial legislation, nor is there specific ministerial policy, that dictates when a child can be unsupervised.

"It is important to point out that the ruling in question comes from an appeal of an interim decision. The final determination of whether a child is in need of protection would need to be decided by a judge in provincial court," Cadieux said in the email.

"Whenever the ministry receives a report that a child has been left unattended, we would take steps to assess the child's safety, based on a number of considerations, including:

• The child's capacity and maturity.

• How long the child is being left alone.

• The time of day.

• The safety measures that are in place.

• Whether there are other children in the home.

• Whether the child has access to responsible adults and the means to contact his or her parents.

• The child's personal views and comfort level with the arrangement.

• Any historical concerns or other factors affecting the family."

'It's a parent's right to decide'

John-Paul Boyd, executive director of the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family, says while this case isn't precedent setting, it presents a lesson to parents.

"You have to be careful about the social worker who comes to visit, because he or she has a great deal of discretion in deciding what the ministry decides to do," he said.

Boyd says the mother had a good defence, and agrees children mature at different ages and there's no legal definition of when a child is old enough to be left on their own.

"There are seven-year-old kids that I would trust with the keys to my house, and 17-year-old kids I would never trust with the keys to my house," Boyd says.

Boyd says the laws around these issues have not changed in many years, and the only thing that might be changing are social workers' and judges' interpretations of the law.

In his view, "It's a parent's right to decide whether or not her particular child is old enough and mature enough to handle those decisions on his own."

However, he says that a society, we've become more "neurotic" about keeping watch over children.