JK v. Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services, 2024 CFSRB 122

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD

BETWEEN:

JK

Applicant

-and-

Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services

Respondent

DECISION

Adjudicator: Catherine Bickley

Date: November 01, 2024

Citation: 2024 CFSRB 122

Indexed As: JK v Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services (CYFSA s.120)

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

JK, Applicant

Self-represented

Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child and Family Services, Respondent

Isaac Couto, Counsel

Introduction

1This is an Application filed with the Child and Family Services Review Board (“CFSRB”) under section 120 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, SO 2017, c.14, Sched.1 (the “Act”).

2In its Response, the Respondent stated that the “matters raised by the Applicant in her CFSRB application are issues that are before the Superior Court of Justice and should not proceed before the CFSRB.” The CFSRB directed both parties to make written submissions on the jurisdictional issue and they have done so. I have considered the Application, the Response, and the parties’ submissions.

issue

3Are the issues in the Application separate and different from the substantive issues before the court?

RESULT

4I find that the issues in the Application are not separate and different from the substantive issues before the court. Thus, the CFSRB lacks jurisdiction to review the Application and the Application must be dismissed.

analysis

5The Applicant is the maternal grandmother and kin caregiver of two children. The family’s file was transferred from another child welfare agency to the Respondent in June 2022.

6On September 26, 2024, the Applicant was added as a party to the ongoing child protection proceeding before the court.

7The Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled in Children’s Aid Society of Waterloo v. DD, 2011 ONCA 441 that the existence of child protection proceedings does not bar the CFSRB from reviewing complaints about services received from a children’s aid society if the complaints are separate and different from the substantive issues before the court.

8The Applicant’s lengthy submissions on the jurisdictional issue focus largely on matters that are not relevant to that issue. For example, a significant portion of her submissions focuses on the Respondent’s involvement with the Applicant’s daughter (the children’s mother) rather than on services that the Applicant herself has sought or received from the Respondent. The Applicant also makes allegations about interactions between the children’s extended family and the Applicant’s daughter. In addition, the submissions contain complaints about another child welfare agency that was previously involved with the Applicant’s family.

9Both the Application and the Applicant’s jurisdictional submissions raise significant concerns about the children’s access with their extended family. These concerns are set out in detail in court documents, including an affidavit filed by the Respondent in the child protection proceeding and a statement which the Applicant made to the court in January 2024. The extended family’s access with the children is a central issue before the court and the court has made an order regarding access. As a result, access and any related issues are outside the CFSRB’s jurisdiction as they are not separate and different from the substantive issues before the court.

10For these reasons, I find that the issues raised in the Application are not separate and different than the substantive issues before the court. Thus, the CFSRB lacks jurisdiction to review the Application and the Application must be dismissed.

order

11The Application is dismissed.

confidentiality order

12Pursuant to Rules 9.3 and 9.4 of the CFSRB’s Rules of Procedure, parties and their representatives must not use, share, discuss or disclose any CFSRB documents or decisions or any other documents or information provided or used in this Application with anyone, including through the media or online. The CFSRB prohibits the use of any of this information for any purpose outside of the CFSRB’s proceedings, except with an order of the Court or the CFSRB, as appropriate.