The B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Aug. 20, 2010.Darryl Dyck/ The Canadian Press
The British Columbia government says a judge ignored evidence in a case involving a father who was granted unsupervised visits even after he was found to have abused his other children.
The Children's Ministry makes the argument in its appeal of a July 2015 ruling by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Walker, who found the man abused his toddler after he was granted access.
Walker said social workers were negligent when they removed children from their mother's care, permitted unsupervised access with their father and supported his custody application.
The ministry says in a document filed in the B.C. Court of Appeal that Walker ignored evidence given by ministry witnesses who testified they had concerns about child-protection issues.
It says Walker's decision overlooked relevant history in the case and that he ignored the reasons witnesses gave for supporting the father's custodial interests.
The ministry is asking B.C.'s top court to dismiss the civil case as well as the claims of wrongdoing by government workers and to set aside special costs to the mother.