“A section 30 assessment has already been ordered, so the court need not reconsider the issue. But the court must consider whether Ms. Lieberman should be appointed. Ms. Lieberman is highly qualified, and has been appointed as a s. 30 assessor before. She has consented to the appointment, and would complete the assessment in three months. The mother has agreed to pay for the assessment, subject to reallocation at trial.
The father objects to the appointment of Ms. Lieberman on the grounds that she is Jewish, like the mother. His objection is that his daughter is Black. And that only an assessor who is Black would be appropriate. He later stated that the assessor must specifically be “Black Caribbean,” like him, or “Black Chinese Caribbean,” like him.
The court does not appoint, or refuse to appoint, professionals based solely on their race. And it would be improper for a court to do so. Section 30 assessors are experts, appointed by the court, because of their technical and professional skills, to report on the needs of the child and the ability and willingness of the parties to satisfy the needs of the child. Assessors may use several methods to learn about the parents and the child, including interviews with the parents, observations of parent-child contact, interviews with third parties who have had significant involvement with the child, a review of records or reports about the child or the parents, and psychological tests.
Given Canada’s diverse and multicultural society, assessors are called on to provide parenting assessments for parents and children with diverse cultural, linguistic, religious, and spiritual upbringing and heritage. There is, and should never be, a requirement that an assessor share the same upbringing or heritage. But being alert to what a child’s upbringing and heritage mean, in the context of parenting, is part of the technical and professional skills that will inform the recommendations. Both the Divorce Act and the CLRA require judges to determine parenting issues based on the best interests of the child, which includes a consideration of the child’s cultural, linguistic, religious, and spiritual upbringing and heritage. If the father participates in the parenting assessment, the father will be able to bring forward the issues important to him based on what he told the court is his identity as a Black Caribbean man.”