Case information
Consult our database for details on a Supreme Court of Canada case.
42037
K.S.M. v. Minister of Opportunities and Social Development, et al.
(Nova Scotia) (Civil) (By Leave)
(Publication ban in case) (Publication ban on party)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-30 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2026-01-08 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2026-01-08 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2026-01-08 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The motion for an extension of time to serve and file the application for leave to appeal is granted. The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Number CA 540899, 2025 NSCA 61, dated July 31, 2025, is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2026-01-08 | Decision on motion to extend time, See decision on application | |
| 2026-01-08 | Decision on motion to extend time to file and /or serve the leave application, See decision on application | |
| 2026-01-02 |
Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, Rule 32 (2) letter sent to the parties by email. |
|
| 2025-12-31 | Supplemental document, (Letter Form), Additional Correspondence to the motion filed | K.S.M. |
| 2025-12-31 |
Notice of miscellaneous motion, (Book Form), Missing 23B Proof of Service , Incomplete |
K.S.M. |
| 2025-12-01 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2025-12-01 | Submission of motion to extend time, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2025-12-01 | Submission of motion to extend time to file and/ or serve the leave application, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2025-11-20 | Motion to extend time, (Book Form), (Included in the supplemental document), Completed on: 2025-11-20 | K.S.M. |
| 2025-11-20 | Supplemental document, (Book Form), Supplemental Memorandum of Arguments | K.S.M. |
| 2025-11-20 | Supplemental document, (Letter Form), Exhibit A | K.S.M. |
| 2025-11-19 | Letter and notice pursuant to Rule 64 sent to, All parties via email | |
| 2025-10-22 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B, (Printed version filed on 2025-10-28) | Minister of Opportunities and Social Development |
| 2025-10-22 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2025-10-28) | Minister of Opportunities and Social Development |
| 2025-10-22 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2025-10-28) | Minister of Opportunities and Social Development |
| 2025-10-22 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2025-10-22, (Printed version filed on 2025-10-28) | Minister of Opportunities and Social Development |
| 2025-10-10 | Letter advising parties of an incomplete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED | |
| 2025-10-01 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A & 23B | K.S.M. |
| 2025-10-01 |
Motion to extend the time to file and or serve the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), (Included in the application for leave to appeal), Missing Proof of Service , Completed on: 2025-11-20 |
K.S.M. |
| 2025-10-01 |
Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Missing CA Judgment and Orders (Rec'd 2025-11-20) TC Judgement and Orders (Rec'd 2025-11-20) Proof of Service , Completed on: 2025-11-20 |
K.S.M. |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| K.S.M. | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Minister of Opportunities and Social Development | Respondent | Active |
| Z.M. (by her Guardian ad item Beth Archibald) | Respondent | Active |
| N.M. (by his Guardian ad item Stephen Johnson) | Respondent | Active |
| C.B. | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: K.S.M.
This party is not represented by counsel.
Party: Minister of Opportunities and Social Development
Counsel
Family Litigation Services
1690 Hollis Street, P.O. Box 7
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 2L6
Email: angela.swantee@novascotia.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street, Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lea.desjardins@gowlingwlg.com
Party: Z.M. (by her Guardian ad item Beth Archibald)
Counsel
5746 Russell Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3K 3B5
Telephone: (902) 423-8105
FAX: (902) 422-8067
Email: Susan.Young@Dal.Ca
Party: N.M. (by his Guardian ad item Stephen Johnson)
Counsel
Suite 205
Elmsdale, Nova Scotia
B2S 1A3
Telephone: (902) 259-3024
FAX: (902) 259-3363
Email: ADutcher@BurchellMacDougall.com
Party: C.B.
This party is not represented by counsel.
Summary
Keywords
Family law — Child protection — Apprehension — Whether child protection services unlawfully apprehended the applicant’s children without proper investigation, evidence or legal justification — Whether the applicant was discriminated against and denied disability accommodation in the legal process — Whether the Court of Appeal failed to address the systemic and intersectional discrimination that permeated the lower court proceedings.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
(PUBLICATION BAN IN CASE) (PUBLICATION BAN ON PARTY)
K.S.M.’s three children were placed in the permanent care and custody of the Minister of Opportunities and Social Development due to concerns under the Children and Family Services Act. The children were placed with relatives and K.S.M. appealed the decision, alleging errors by the trial judge, discrimination, and bias and sought to have her children returned to her care. The appeal was dismissed.
Lower court rulings
Applicant’s three children placed in the permanent care and custody of the Minister of Opportunities and Social Development
Appeal dismissed
Filed documents
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available