The British Columbia Court of Appeal has issued a precedent setting decision, upholding the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal’s (the “Tribunal”) decision which ordered a $150,000 injury to dignity award for the respondent’s removal of the complainants’ Indigenous children into government care.
Factual Background & Case History
The initial human rights case dealt with a RR, a racialized Afro-Indigenous complainant that faced intersectional and structural disadvantages. The respondent, Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society (the “VACFSS”), is an Indigenous child welfare agency which was established to address the disproportionate number of Indigenous children in government care. The respondent removed RR’s children between April 2017 and December 2018 because they perceived her to be a significant child protection concern. The Tribunal Member awarded RR $150,000 in injury to dignity damages for having her children wrongfully removed by VACFSS.
This decision was overturned at the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Writing for the majority, Justice Gomery found that the Tribunal Member had jurisdiction to consider whether the respondents’ decisions under the Child Family and Community Service Act, RSBC 1996 (the “CFCSA”) were discriminatory, but that the Provincial Court, and not the Tribunal, was responsible for determining whether a child must be removed from a parent’s care. Justice Gomery further held that the Tribunal Member erred in law in concluding that the continual removal of the children was not justified. The matter was ordered to be remitted to the Tribunal chair, and not the Member, for further review.
BC Court of Appeal Decision
The Court of Appeal sided with the Tribunal. Writing for the majority, Justice Marchand held that the Tribunal had the jurisdiction to hear the complaint, and that the Tribunal Member followed a fair process. In this, the Tribunal Member did not expand the scope of the complaint. Further, the CFCSA protects children while the British Columbia Human Rights Code (the “Code”) ensures that child protection services are provided free of discrimination. In this, there was no operational conflict between the CFCSA and the Code, and any finding otherwise would have left RR without an ability to seek her rights to be free of discrimination. Finally, the decision should not have any impact on how child protection workers perform their duties, as they should always be performed in a non-discriminatory manner. In consideration of these reasons, Justice Marchand found there was no basis to intervene with the Tribunal Member’s initial decision, restoring the $150,000 injury to dignity award.
This decision is monumental for human rights law across Canada. It not only sets a precedent for high injury to dignity awards for human rights violation, but it also reiterates the authority of administrative tribunals, upholding them as the court of competent jurisdiction in their respective areas. Read the LESA blog here for a more thorough summary of the initial human rights decision, and the British Columbia Supreme Court decision. For the Court of Appeals complete reasoning in RR v Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society, 2025 BCCA 151, read the full decision here.
