NS Court Denies Grandma Party Status in Child Protection Case
What is party status in a child protection case?
In child protection cases, “party status” means that a person or entity will be recognized as a valid participant in a legal process.
This status gives the designated person certain legal rights and benefits.
For example, they could see court papers, be informed about the case, participate in meetings, present evidence, and argue their case.
Background of the case
This child protection case involved four children, their maternal grandmother, and the Minister of Community Services. This case was already at its final stage when the appeal was made by the grandmother to gain party access.

Additionally, she also filed an application under the Parental and Support Act to gain custody of all four children involved. This endeavour was backed by her daughter, also the mother of the children. Her final goal was to gain primary care of the children or help her mother gain custody instead.

Before we delve further, it is important to note that the court intended the maternal grandparent to care for at least one of the children, while the paternal grandparents provide support for the other three.

Paternal Grandparents’ Objection to the Appeal
The issue arose when the parental grandparents objected to maternal grandmother gaining access as a participant to the case. They did not want her to see all the official evidence related to the case, as it contained sensitive and personal information. They feared exposing it to another party, thinking it might lead to unlawful usage of it.

As an alternate, the paternal grandparents suggested that she (maternal grandmother) could still relay her evidence if her daughter calls her as a witness to strengthen her legal standing in the case. Such an arrangement will eliminate the need for full disclosure to the grandmother.

However, the mother still displayed her full support for the maternal grandmother’s application to be added as a party. Here the maternal grandmother argued that she needs full disclosure to fully understand what is expected of her as a primary caregiver.

The Three-Part MS Test to Determine ‘Party Status’
The court used a legal test, called the “MS test,” to decide if the maternal grandmother should get party status. This test comes from a previous case, MS v. Nova Scotia (Minister of Community Services), and is based on the Children and Family Services Act and Civil Procedure Rules. To qualify, an applicant must meet three conditions.

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