1In this Act
“adult” means a person who has reached the age of majority;(adulte)
“best interests of the child” means the best interests of the child under the circumstances taking into consideration
(intérêt supérieur de l’enfant)
(a)
the mental, emotional and physical health of the child and his need for appropriate care or treatment, or both;
(b)
the views and preferences of the child, where such views and preferences can be reasonably ascertained;
(c)
the effect upon the child of any disruption of the child’s sense of continuity;
(d)
the love, affection and ties that exist between the child and each person to whom the child’s custody is entrusted, each person to whom access to the child is granted and, where appropriate, each sibling of the child and, where appropriate, each grandparent of the child;
(e)
the merits of any plan proposed by the Minister under which he would be caring for the child, in comparison with the merits of the child returning to or remaining with his parents;
(f)
the need to provide a secure environment that would permit the child to become a useful and productive member of society through the achievement of his full potential according to his individual capacity; and
(g)
the child’s cultural and religious heritage;
“child” means a person actually or apparently under the age of majority, unless otherwise specified or prescribed in this Act or the regulations, and includes
(enfant)
(c)
a child whose parents are not married to one another;
(d)
a child to whom a person stands
in loco parentis, if that person’s spouse is a parent of the child; and
(e)
when used in reference to the relationship between an adopted person and the person adopting or the relationship between a person and his birth mother or birth father, a person who has attained the age of majority;
but, for the purposes of making a determination under Part VII, does not include a person who has been married;
“child in care” means any child within an age group prescribed by regulation who has been placed under protective care or any child who is in the care of the Minister under the terms of
(enfant pris en charge)
(b)
a guardianship agreement;
(d)
a guardianship order; or
(f)
Repealed: 1996, c.75, s.1
“cohabit” means to live together in a family relationship;(cohabiter)
“common-law partner” means a person who cohabits in a conjugal relationship with another person if the persons are not married to each other;(conjoint de fait)
“consent” means a written consent to an arrangement, having been informed of, or having an understanding of, all aspects of the arrangement and its reasonable implications;(consentement)
“court” means The Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick, except where otherwise provided, and includes any judge thereof;(cour)
“custody agreement” means any agreement with respect to the custody, care or control of a child, and includes a custody agreement as defined in Part IV;(entente de garde)
“custody order” means the order of any court with respect to the custody, care or control of a child, and includes a custody order as defined in Part IV;(ordonnance de garde)
“Department” means the Department of Social Development, unless otherwise indicated;(ministère)
“disabled person” means one who, because of physical or mental impairment, including congenital or genetic abnormality, suffers absence or reduction of functional competence which substantially limits his ability to carry out normal daily activities;(personne handicapée)
“elderly person” means one who has reached the age of sixty-five years, and, in the absence of positive evidence of age, means a person who apparently has reached that age;(personne âgée)
“foster parent” means an adult who as part of his family, cares for a child on behalf of the Minister;(parent nourricier)
“guardian” means
(tuteur)
(a)
a guardian appointed under the
Guardianship of Children Act or under a court order, and includes a person having comparable status and authority under the laws of another province or state, but does not include a person appointed solely as a guardian of the estate of the child; or
(b)
the Minister under a guardianship agreement or a guardianship order, and includes a person or agency having comparable status and authority under the laws of another province or state;
“guardianship agreement” means a guardianship agreement as defined in Part IV;(entente de tutelle)
“guardianship order” means any order of a court appointing a person as a guardian, and includes a guardianship order as defined in Part IV;(ordonnance de tutelle)
“holiday” means
(jour férié)
(a)
a holiday as defined in the
Interpretation Act,
(c)
any other day observed as a holiday within the public service of the Province;
“Minister” means the Minister of Social Development;(Ministre)
“parent” means a mother or father and includes
(parent)
(b)
for purposes of Parts III, IV and VII, a person with whom the child ordinarily resides who has demonstrated a settled intention to treat the child as a child of his or her family;
(c.1)
a prospective adopting parent with whom the Minister has entered into an agreement under the authority of section 70.1;
(d)
a natural parent or adopting parent whose rights with respect to the guardianship of the child have been terminated by a guardianship agreement or a guardianship order under Part IV or who has been deprived of the status of guardian under subsection 3(1) of the
Guardianship of Children Act; or
(e)
the natural father of the child who is not married to the mother of the child unless he has signed the birth registration form under section 9 of the
Vital Statistics Act or he has filed, with the mother, a statutory declaration under section 105, or he has been named the father of the child in a declaratory order made under Part VI or he is a parent within the meaning of paragraph (b);
“place” means to transfer the care of a child, whether in law or in fact, from one person to another, and includes any act of solicitation or negotiation that, on any reasonable view of the circumstances, can be construed as contributing to the transfer of the care of the child, whether in law or in fact, from one person to another; and “placing” and “placement” have corresponding meanings;(placer)
“protective care” means a service which provides an immediate safeguard for
(régime de protection)
(a)
a child’s security and development, or
(b)
the security of a person whom the Minister has reason to believe is a neglected adult or an abused adult;
“province” means a province of Canada, and includes a territory thereof;(province)
“resources” includes financial support, personnel, equipment, facilities and any other departmental resources which the Minister may make available to a community social service agency or a community placement resource;(ressources)
“spouse” means a person who is married to another person by virtue of a legally constituted marriage, except where otherwise defined in this Act.(conjoint)
1981, c.10, s.1; 1982, c.13, s.1; 1986, c.8, s.41; 1990, c.25, s.1; 1993, c.42, s.1; 1996, c.13, s.1; 1996, c.75, s.1; 1997, c.2, s.1; 2000, c.26, s.113; 2007, c.20, s.1; 2008, c.6, s.16