Summary#
Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Child and Youth Well-Being Act, would amend New Brunswick’s existing Child and Youth Well-Being Act. It would add authority for the Minister of Social Development to make certain agreements with a parent without returning a child or youth to that parent’s care, and would validate some past agreements and actions. The stated aim in the provision is to protect the child or youth’s well-being without returning them to the parent’s care.
- The Minister would gain authority to enter into an agreement with a parent, including a custody or guardianship agreement, in those circumstances.
- Agreements made from January 26, 2024, through the bill’s commencement date would be treated as valid if they were made within five days after protective care interventions and met the conditions in the bill.
- Past actions taken, or intended to be taken, under the new authority during that period would be confirmed as valid.
- An agreement from that period that is still in effect when the bill commences would remain valid and effective.
- A legal proceeding to question the Minister’s authority for a past action cannot be brought against the Crown or Minister if the Minister acted in good faith.
The supplied text is the bill at first reading, so passage is uncertain. No separately labelled amendments were supplied. The Child and Youth Well-Being Act itself was not supplied, so I could not verify the full current law or how this provision fits with the rest of the Act.
What it means for you#
- Children, youth and parents: The bill does not require a child or youth to be returned to a parent. It would allow the Minister to enter an agreement with a parent while the child or youth remains out of that parent’s care.
- Minister of Social Development: The bill adds authority to make those agreements. It does not set out an application or approval process, timelines, or appeal rights.
- People affected by past agreements or actions: Qualifying agreements and actions from January 26, 2024, to commencement would receive legal validation. The limit on legal proceedings applies when the Minister acted in good faith and concerns challenges to the Minister’s authority for the action.
- General public: The bill does not directly change taxes, benefits, or services for the public as a whole.
Money#
No cost information is in the available material.
- The bill does not state a spending amount, staffing requirement, fee, or fine.
What is unclear#
- The bill does not explain how the Minister would decide whether to make an agreement, or what terms and safeguards an agreement must include.
- It does not describe how children or youth would be involved in these decisions, or what rights parents have to challenge them.
- The bill uses “protective care interventions” but does not define it in the supplied text. The parent Act was not provided to check whether it defines the term.
- The bill does not explain how the new authority relates to the Minister’s other powers under the Act.
- The bill’s start depends on its commencement; the supplied material does not establish when that would be.
Case for#
- The bill appears intended to let the Minister and a parent make an agreement aimed at protecting a child or youth without returning them to the parent’s care.
- Adding express authority could clarify the Minister’s legal basis for making such agreements.
- Validating qualifying past agreements and actions could reduce uncertainty about their legal status.
Case against#
- The bill would validate past agreements and actions retroactively, without setting out in this text a process for reviewing whether each case met the child’s needs.
- The good-faith limit on legal proceedings may make it harder to challenge the Minister’s authority for past actions.
- The bill does not specify agreement terms, decision-making safeguards, or how children and youth would take part, leaving important protections unclear.