Adoption 29191, Re, (1977) 5 A.R. 313 (DC)

• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
• Case Date: March 01, 1977
• Citations: (1977), 5 A.R. 313 (DC)

Adoption 29191, Re (1977), 5 A.R. 313 (DC)

MLB headnote and full text

Re Adoption 29191

Indexed As: Adoption 29191, Re

Alberta District Court

Judicial District of Edmonton

Bracco, D.C.J.

March 1, 1977.

Summary:

This headnote contains no summary.

Family Law - Topic 1570

Adoption - Consent of parents - Dispensing with the consent of an objecting parent - Whether the parent's grounds for withholding consent were sufficient - Child Welfare Act, s. 54(3.1) - A husband and wife were divorced - There were three children of the marriage - Custody of one boy was awarded to the father and custody of two younger boys was awarded to the mother - The mother remarried and the mother and her second husband applied to adopt the two younger boys - The natural father of the boys objected and refused to consent to the adoption - The Alberta District Court dismissed the adoption application - Pursuant to s. 54(3.1) of the Child Welfare Act, the district court considered whether the father's grounds for withholding consent were sufficient - The district court stated that such sufficiency must be measured objectively, taking into account the grounds and evidence in support of the application for adoption as well as the grounds and evidence in support of the withholding of consent - See paragraph 21.

Words and Phrases

Insufficient - The Alberta District Court discussed the meaning of the word "insufficient" as found in s. 54(3.1)(b) of the Alberta Child Welfare Act - See paragraphs 17 and 21.

Cases Noticed:

Hawkins v. Addison (1955), 15 W.W.R. 18, refd to. [para. 18].

Re Alty's Adoption (1961), 34 W.W.R. 1, refd to. [para. 18].

Morrison v. Perry (1973), 11 R.F.L. 214, refd to. [para. 18].

Re Adoptions Nos. 22025 to 22028 (1973), 8 R.F.L. 240, refd to. [para. 19].

Re W (an infant), [1971] A.C. 682, folld. [para. 21].

Smith v. Koch, [1976] 3 W.W.R. 346, refd to. [para. 22].

Re B (a minor), [1975] 2 All E.R. 449, folld. [para. 32].

Re D. (minors), [1973] 3 All E.R. 1001, folld. [para. 32].

Statutes Noticed:

Child Welfare Act, S.A. 1971, c. 15, sect. 53(3.1) [para. 14]; sect. 54(4) [para. 20].

Counsel:

Robert W. Thompson, for the applicant;

Robert M. Fulton, for the respondent.

The judgment of the District Court was delivered by BRACCO, D.C.J., at Edmonton, Alberta on March 1, 1977.