Intervention: Barendregt v Grebliunas
In 2021, Rise Women’s Legal Centre and West Coast LEAF jointly intervened in Barendregt v Grebliunas at the Supreme Court of Canada, a case involving complex legal issues that affect the rights of survivors of family violence. This is a landmark decision on when and how appeal courts can consider new evidence in family law matters. This case also addressed how family violence should be approached, and clarified the impact that family violence has on relocation applications.
We intervened with West Coast LEAF in this case to help provide background to the court on the epidemic of family violence in Canada. We argued that courts should recognize the context of family violence in Canada, including the prevalent influence of myths and stereotypes about family violence. We also argued that appeal courts should be especially deferential (respectful) to a trial judge’s concerns about family violence.
You can read our written argument here.
Brief case summary
Ms. Barendregt and Mr. Grebliunas, the parties, had a 9-day trial in BC Supreme Court, which mainly addressed the mother, Ms. Barendregt’s, application to move the children from Kelowna, BC, where the family had lived prior to the parents’ separation, to her home community of Telkwa, BC. The father, Mr. Grebliunas, was opposed to the relocation.
The trial judge found that the father committed family violence against the mother, including that the father “had assaulted and emotionally traumatized the mother.”(para 18, Barendregt v Grebliunas, 2019 BCSC 2192 (CanLII), <https://canlii.ca/t/j47p7>)
The trial judge at the BC Supreme Court granted the mother’s request to relocate because it was in the best interests of the children. In deciding this, he considered the history of family violence, and the risk of harm to the children if they remained in Kelowna. The judge also considered the father’s continuing animosity towards the mother including his behaviour towards her at the trial. (para 18)
The father’s home in Kelowna, which was uninhabitable, was also taken into account by the trial judge. While the father said he would obtain the funds to complete the renovations and buy out the mother’s share of the home, the trial judge was not certain this was possible.
The father appealed the trial judge’s decision at the BC Court of Appeal. While the hearing was underway, the father found out that his financing application for home renovations had been approved, and he asked the Court of Appeal to consider this new information. This was not standard as appeal courts only consider new information in exceptional cases.
After minimizing the father’s history of abuse and the risks of ongoing abuse, the Court of Appeal overturned the relocation decision and ordered that the children be returned to Kelowna (Barendregt v. Grebliunas, 2021 BCCA 11 (CanLII), <https://canlii.ca/t/jckfl>).
Decision
On December 2, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled from the Bench to overturn the decision of the BC Court of Appeal. This meant that the mother and children were able to continue to rebuild their lives together, close to the mother’s family and support networks, and with less risk of violence from the father in Telkwa. The Supreme Court released the reasons for the ruling on May 20, 2022, and confirmed that family violence must be a central consideration when determining the best interests of children, and that courts should take evidence of even one incident of family violence seriously.
The Supreme Court of Canada specifically referenced our arguments in its decision in a few important ways:
“Domestic violence allegations are notoriously difficult to prove…As the interveners West Coast LEAF Association and Rise Women’s Legal Centre point out, family violence often takes place behind closed doors and may lack corroborating evidence ... Thus, proof of even one incident may raise safety concerns for the victim or may overlap with and enhance the significance of other factors, such as the need for limited contact or support.” (para 144)
And as the interveners West Coast LEAF Association and Rise Women’s Legal Centre point out, it is important to be aware of the social and legal barriers to women disclosing family violence in family law proceedings.” (para 183)
This was an important victory for survivors of family violence and has had far-reaching impacts on how courts identify family violence, protect survivors, and center the best interests of children.
Interventions are vitally important and take a lot of time and resources. You can support our systemic work by donating to Rise and playing a role in creating change for survivors of violence.