P.E.I. names legal aid attorney as first children's lawyer

The P.E.I. Department of Justice has confirmed legal aid lawyer Catherine Chaisson will become the province's first children's lawyer.

The MacLauchlan government passed legislation this spring to allow the position to be created and included $150,000 for the new program in its budget.

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The program comes as one of a number of measures aimed to provide better protection for children at the centre of difficult custody disputes, and in the wake of a 2013 murder-suicide involving an Island mother and her four-year-old son.

'A front-line worker'

According to government documents, the children's lawyer will be "a front-line worker who ensures the voices of children are heard in court matters that will impact on them."

As the province's children's lawyer, Chaisson will have the power to intervene in custody cases, appearing in court to represent the children involved. Judges will also be able to appoint the children's lawyer where they deem appropriate, without requiring consent from the other parties in the custody dispute.

Chaisson will also have the power to conduct investigations, interview children without the consent of their parents, and compel information including children's personal health and educational records.

To focus on 'high-conflict' cases

Government has said it expects the children's lawyer to be involved in about 20-30 custody cases per year deemed to be "high conflict."

Chaisson will work as part of a team that includes a mediator and social workers. Those positions were largely created using existing resources within government.

At least one parent has raised concerns over the fact that as a legal aid lawyer, Chaisson has already represented one side or the other in numerous custody disputes between Island parents, and could be in a conflict of interest if she returned to those cases as a children's lawyer.

A spokesperson for government told CBC News any potential conflicts would be decided on a case by case basis, and if a conflict existed that case could be contracted out to a private lawyer. Government has a shortlist of local lawyers who applied for the position of children's lawyer and meet the qualifications.

CBC News was told Chaissonwould not be available for an interview until after she started in the new position, which is expected to happen next week.

New dispute resolution process

Other supports government has announced include a resolution process meant to settle disputes among estranged parents in a way that minimizes conflict and reduces the risk to children. That process will be overseen by a new parenting co-ordinator, expected to be in place this summer. The province says it expects other professionals to seek official designation to be able to practice as private parenting co-ordinators.

The province has also announced further measures to allow parents to deal with separation outside the court system. Legislation passed in the spring will allow family law arbitration to take place on P.E.I. Government says the move will reduce court costs and demands on the justice system.

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Opposition parties welcomed the moves when they were announced, but said the changes don't go far enough. Both the Progressive Conservatives and the Green Party have been pressuring government to appoint a child advocate. That was one of 15 recommendations made by the jury appointed for the Campbell-Hennessey inquest.

Calls continue for child advocate

P.E.I. is the only province in Canada without a child advocate, but so far the premier has rebuffed calls to appoint one.

Other organizations including the P.E.I. Advisory Council on the Status of Women and the Community Legal Information Association have also been calling for the position.

And the debate seems to be ongoing. UNICEF Canada told CBC News its chief policy advisorMarv Bernstein will be in Charlottetown next week to make the case for a provincial child advocate. Bernstein was Saskatchewan's child advocate from 2005 to 2010.

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