The Children's Aid Society of Toronto brought a motion to transfer a child protection case involving four children to Native Child and Family Services (NCFS) based on the grandmother's claim of Metis heritage.
The court found that while it had implied jurisdiction to order such a transfer to accomplish the statutory purpose of recognizing Aboriginal heritage in child protection proceedings, the motion was dismissed because the transfer would cause unacceptable delay and disruption at an advanced stage of the case.
The court treated the children as Aboriginal for purposes of the proceeding and noted that the Society could still provide culturally appropriate services while retaining the case.
