CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD
BETWEEN:
BD
Applicant
-and-
The Children’s Aid Society of the Region of Peel
Respondent
DECISION
Adjudicator: Tracy Foster
Date: April 27, 2026
Citation: 2026 CFSRB 63
Indexed as: BD v The Children’s Aid Society of the Region of Peel (CYFSA s.120)
OVERVIEW
1This is an Application filed under section 120 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c.14, Sched.1, (the “Act”).
2The Applicant is the grandfather of the child in the Application (the “Child”). He complains that the Respondent has not heard his complaint regarding the Child’s treatment by his mother.
3This decision explains why the Application is not eligible for review by the CFSRB.
ISSUE
4The issue is:
- Is the Application eligible for review by the CFSRB?
RESULT
5The CFSRB finds that the Application is not eligible for review.
ANALYSIS
6In section 6 of the Application, where an applicant identifies why they have applied to the CFSRB, the Applicant checked off the following boxes:
The Society did not give you a chance to be heard when decisions that affected your interests were made
The Society refused to proceed with your complaint
The Society did not follow its complaint review process or timelines
The CFSRB Cannot Review a Non-Parent’s Complaints about Not Being Heard
7The first box checked by the Applicant relates to the right to be heard, Section 120(4)4 of the Act.
8Section 120(4)4 defines complaints that the CFSRB may review: “Allegations that the society has failed to comply with subsection 15 (2).” Subsection 15(2) of the Act limits the right to be heard to “children and young persons and their parents.”
9The Applicant is not the Child’s parent. As such, the CFSRB does not have the jurisdiction to review the Applicant’s complaints about not being heard by the Respondent.
The CFSRB can only review whether a society proceeded with or followed its complaint review process or timelines when the complaint is on the required form
10The last two boxes checked under section 6 of the Application refer to the Society’s Formal Internal Review Complaints Review Panel (“ICRP”).
11Section 56 of Ontario Regulation 156/18 General Matters Under the Authority of the Minister (the “Regulation”) states:
A complaint to a society under subsection 119(1) of the Act must be made in the form entitled “Formal Complaint to a Society’s Internal Complaints Review Panel (ICRP)” and dated 2020/11, available on a website of the Government of Ontario.
12Subsection 119(2) of the Act requires that a complaint to a children’s aid society be made in the format set out in the Regulation. This includes filing a specific “Formal Complaint to a Society’s Internal Complaints Review Panel (ICRP)” form.
13The CFSRB can only review a complaint dealing with an ICRP only when the complaint is on the required form. The Applicant did not file or provide information to support that he made a formal ICRP complaint to the Respondent on the form required by the Regulation.
14As such, the CFSRB lacks the jurisdiction to review whether the Respondent proceeded with his complaint or followed its complaint process.
ORDER
6The Application is dismissed.
confidentiality order
7Pursuant 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.
Tracy Foster
Tracy Foster
Member