The applicant children's aid society applied for a status review, initially supporting the child's adoption by his foster mother, but later amending its application to support adoption by the child's paternal aunts.
The foster mother, who had cared for the child for 28 months and helped him overcome severe attachment and anxiety issues, was added as a party and sought to adopt him.
The court found that removing the child from the foster mother's care would cause significant emotional harm and that remaining with her was in his best interests.
Finding a legislative gap in the Child and Family Services Act that prevented a custody order in favour of a foster parent on a status review, the court exercised its parens patriae jurisdiction to declare the child a Crown ward with the express purpose of being adopted by the foster mother.
