Diane Sousa

A children's aid society brought a child protection application under the CYFSA.

During argument on a temporary care and custody motion, a dispute arose about whether the child should be found to be a First Nations child under Ontario Regulation 155/18.

Although the child did not self-identify and neither parent identified the child as Indigenous, the child's half-sibling and that sibling's biological father self-identified as First Nations.

The court adopted a broad, purposive interpretation of the regulation and found that section 1(c)(i) applied, holding that the self-identification of a half-sibling was sufficient to establish the child as a First Nations child for the purposes of the CYFSA, engaging the Federal Act's placement priority provisions.

The temporary care and custody hearing was adjourned for further argument.

The applicant society brought a motion for summary judgment seeking an order to place the child in extended Society care.

The mother opposed the motion, seeking the return of the child under a supervision order.

Relying on expert evidence that the mother lacked the capacity to safely parent the child full-time due to a psychological disorder, the court found no genuine issue for trial.

The court granted the summary judgment, placing the child in extended Society care, but ordered that the mother, sibling, and maternal grandparents have a right of access to the child.