“Rule 24(2) of the Family Law Rules, O. Reg. 114/99 provides that the presumption that a successful party to litigation is entitled to costs does not apply in the context of a child protection case. However, this does not mean that a child protection agency is immune from having to pay costs. As correctly pointed out by the motion judge:
[T]he starting point in analyzing a claim for costs against a child protection agency is that child welfare professionals should not be penalized for carrying out their statutory obligation to protect children. Costs will generally only be awarded against a children’s aid society in circumstances where the public at large would perceive that the society has acted in an unfair and indefensible manner. A society should not be sanctioned through costs for an error in judgment, or in cases where the nature of the case makes it difficult to weigh and balance the evidence and predict the outcome. That said, the society is not exempt from costs, which may be imposed on it where it has acted unreasonably. If a society acts unreasonably in the conduct of its litigation, it should enjoy no special protection as to costs.”
Children’s Aid Society of the Region of Peel v. L.M., 2022 ONCA 379 (CanLII) at 21