Dr. Blake

A summary judgment motion brought by the Children's Aid Society of Toronto seeking findings that two young children (T.D. born in 2015 and A.D.-W. born in 2016) be found in need of protection and made Crown wards without access for the purpose of adoption.

The respondent mother consented to the orders sought.

The respondent father of A.D.-W. opposed the motion, arguing there were triable issues regarding the finding of need of protection and the disposition.

The court granted the society's motion, finding both children were in need of protection due to the mother's significant cognitive and mental health limitations, history of domestic violence, and lack of engagement with services.

The father's plan involving placement with the paternal grandmother was rejected due to the grandmother's extensive child welfare history and the unsuitability of the home environment.

Both children were made Crown wards without access.

The appellant appealed a decision granting permanent wardship of a child with no access, arguing that circumstances had substantially changed since the original decision, including the death of a younger child and the original foster mother, and the appellant's continuing efforts to improve parenting abilities.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the evidence amply supported the lower courts' findings and that the changes did not alter the expert conclusion that permanent wardship with no access was in the child's best interests.

The court noted the child had been in a stable and loving foster home for three years and upsetting that stability would not be in the child's best interests.