This decision concerns a child protection trial under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 involving the child S.W.W., born in 2017.
The Children’s Aid Society of Peel sought a protection finding and a custody order placing the child with his father, S.W., supported by the father and the Office of the Children’s Lawyer.
The mother, A.W., self-represented, sought the return of the child to her care but did not file answers to the protection applications.
The trial was intensively case managed, with the mother’s participation challenged by her failure to comply with court orders and her disruptive behaviour.
The evidence revealed significant concerns about the mother’s mental health, her refusal to send the child to school, and her hyper-vigilance and fixed delusions regarding the child’s welfare.
The child had made inconsistent statements, some likely coached by the mother.
The child was thriving in the father’s care with improved school attendance and emotional well-being.
The court found the child to be in need of protection due to risk of emotional harm if returned to the mother and ordered custody to the father with supervised parenting time for the mother, subject to conditions including mental health treatment and a flexible parenting time regime.
