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Child Emancipation in Canada...

Hi Mark,

My husband and I have not yet been able to implement the information from your sessions, as I had mentioned, our son is not living at home. We are trying to get him back, but he is living in a house with a bunch of kids who are influencing him in a bad way. My son is now talking about emancipation; he will be 16 years old in 2months. My husband and I will not agree to this. Anyways, if you have any insight or advice it would be appreciated.

Regards,

A.

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Emancipation varies between provinces:

Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and PEI is 18.

BC, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Yukon, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador and NW territories is 19.

I don't think he can get it done even with your permission since he's only 16.

In any event, running away is not considered as a crime in Canada.

Out of the 60,360 reported missing children in Canada in 1999, 47,585 were runaways (78 %). British Columbia had the highest number of runaways, with 14,999 cases, followed by Ontario with 12,290.

Youth runaway for many reasons, including to rebel, assert their independence or to flee an environment of abuse. The Webster dictionary defines runaway as to leave quickly to avoid or escape something. Most of the time, youth believe running away is the best solution to a seemingly unbearable situation. According to many experts, running away is not part of an adolescent's normal development.

A definition of runaway is given by the Missing Children's Registry :

A runaway is a person under the age of 18 who flees home for an indefinite time. Generally speaking, the child leaves voluntarily without the permission of the parent or guardian.

The profile of a runaway is : 14-15 years, mostly female, from all ethnic groups and all social classes, often come from dysfunctional families, depressive and tend to have problems in school.

I'd say the hands of Canadian parents are pretty well tied when it comes to teen run-aways.

Mark

My Out-of-Control Teen

6 comments:

caffeenlover247 said...

Hi, my next door neighbors are very religious parents. I must say they are a bit crazy and controling. Lately as their oldest daughter is getting into her teen years there is alot of tension in the house.
She came over the other day crying because her parents where telling her she was possesed and they where praying for her and squirting oils on her.
She is adopted and feels like they favor the younger kids all the time. I feel really bad for her. Her parents are good people but they kinda suck at being parents. Now she heard about emmancipation and she's asking me questions about it.
I don't know what to tell her. What are the laws of emmancipation for new-brunswick canada? Her parents are talking about putting her in a group home because they think shes on drugs and dont want her to be exposed to the other kids... but she swears she isnt. please help me answer her questions on this.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's tough for her. Also, it puts you in an awkward position. But, given her intense situation and being 15 myself, you need to help her. She obviously has no one else to help her. I applaud you for taking the time to think about her. Maybe you can do some research, maybe have her come stay with you for a while. You are such a good person! I wish her the best...

Anonymous said...

Hi there. I came across this site because my husbands ex is saying that my step-son wants to "get divorced" from his father. Ya she's a smart one alright...lol So I am looking for emancipation laws for BC. However I am concerned about your post about the religious adoptive parents. It is crucial that you call social services about this. As a social work student we have learned that this sort of behaviour on the part of the parents can escalate very quickly and can become dangerous. So please please call someone! It could save this girls life. Being a teenager can be very hard especially when growing up in a home like that. Teens are looking for their autonomy and when they don't have the chance to explore that in a safe environment it could lead to destructive behaviour. I wish you and your neighbour all the best!

Anonymous said...

at 16 he can get Emancipated but the court will look at both sides first to see if there is an alternate choice if he feels that the youth is not in danger or feels the the youth is in a good home with his parents he will not permit the Emancipation to go threw so as long as you are good parents to him and he has no proof that you did physical or emotional harm to him then you have nothing to worry about as for getting him home and away from the bad influences most kids go through the bad teen stage give him time and support him the best you can and he will come home

Anonymous said...

what if the child is just rebellious and wants to live with the boyfriend and his family, can she legally file for child support without any evidence against her father? All we want is for her to come home, and live as any normal 15 year old should...but, now she is a runaway; seeking child support with the aid of her boyfriends family..and, legal services. How can they do this? Doesnt the father have any rights anymore?

forheavenlysake said...

It is not illegal for a child to run-away, but it is an indictable criminal offence to “harbour” a run-away without parental consent, or against a parents will.

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