The Children's Aid Society of Toronto brought a motion for summary judgment seeking a finding that a child born prematurely to parents with significant histories of child protection involvement was in need of protection, and seeking an order for extended society care with no parental access.
The mother initially opposed the motion but ultimately consented to the protection finding and extended society care disposition.
The central issue became whether the mother should have access to the child.
The court ordered supervised access, finding it was in the child's best interests despite the mother's significant parenting limitations and the child's secure placement with a foster mother.
The decision provides important guidance on the application of the new access test under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, which represents a significant shift from the prior restrictive approach to access for children in extended society care.
