Alex De Melo

An Indigenous child came into the care of a child protection agency shortly after birth due to maternal drug addiction and prenatal substance exposure.

The agency sought an extension of statutory timelines under section 122(5) of the provincial Child, Youth and Family Services Act to maintain the child in interim care for an additional three months beyond the one-year limit applicable to children under six.

The extension was sought to allow the child to remain in a placement within the child's First Nation community on Christian Island, thereby facilitating the development of relationships with family and community members and increasing the likelihood of a permanent kinship or community-based placement.

The court granted the extension, applying the enhanced best interests test under the federal An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis Children, Youth and Families.

This is a Status Review Application under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act involving three children with special needs who have been in the care of the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.

The court found that all three children remain at risk of physical harm due to the father's serious and long-standing alcohol addiction, his inability to maintain sobriety, his lack of honesty and cooperation with the society and community supports, and allegations of inappropriate physical discipline.

The court ordered that one child be placed in extended care of the society and the other two children be placed in the custody of their paternal aunt, with access arrangements to be supervised.

The Children's Aid Society brought a motion without notice seeking approval of irregular service of an amended protection application on the mother and an order noting the mother in default for failing to file an answer/plan of care within 30 days.

The court approved irregular service as of May 13, 2020, when the mother acknowledged receipt of the amended application by email.

However, the court dismissed the request to note the mother in default, finding that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Ontario Regulation 73/20, which suspended time periods for steps in proceedings retroactively to March 16, 2020, the mother was not in default.

The court noted that if the society wished to seek an exception to the suspension, it would need to bring a motion on notice to the parents.

The mother brought an urgent motion seeking in-person access to her infant son, who was placed in the care of the maternal grandparents following serious non-accidental injuries sustained while in parental care.

The child was hospitalized with traumatic brain injuries, including subdural hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage, and bruising.

The society opposed the motion, seeking to maintain virtual-only access due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns, particularly given the child's medical vulnerability.

The court dismissed the mother's motion and upheld the suspension of in-person access, finding that the child's fragile medical condition and the evolving pandemic risks outweighed the benefits of face-to-face contact at that time.

A 15-year-old youth initiated a protection application against her parents and the Children's Aid Society, seeking temporary care and custody with the Society.

The youth suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from childhood sexual abuse.

She refuses treatment and rejects her parents' involvement in her care.

On three separate occasions between May and September 2018, the youth was discharged from hospitals and residential placements with no caregiver willing to assume responsibility, leaving her vulnerable in the community.

The court found that despite the parents' historical efforts to locate treatment, the repeated failure to provide physical care when community placements broke down constituted a protection concern.

The court granted the youth's motion, placing her in the temporary care and custody of the Children's Aid Society and authorizing the Society to act as substitute decision-maker for medical treatment.

A motion by the Children's Aid Society seeking temporary care and custody of a child with the father in Trinidad and Tobago, subject to supervision and specific terms and conditions.

The mother and step-father opposed the motion and sought the return of the child to their care.

The court denied both the Society's motion and the mother and step-father's request, finding that while there were credible concerns regarding the mother and step-father's parenting, the evidence did not establish that placement with the father would adequately protect the child given the father's limited relationship with the child and the child's significant behavioural needs.