Isaac Veigas Couto

This decision concerns the temporary care and custody of two Indigenous children, R.W. and K.D., under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 and the federal Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The court considered competing plans for the children’s placement: the applicant society (DBCFS) and the Western Cree Tribal Council (on behalf of Horse Lake First Nation) sought placement in a group home in Alberta to facilitate cultural and family reunification, while the respondent, L.S., sought their return to her care or, alternatively, continued care in Ontario.

The court found that L.S. had exposed the children to harm and failed to maintain their cultural connections as required.

Applying both provincial and federal legislation, the court ordered the children be placed in the temporary care and custody of DBCFS, with placement in Alberta, and set out terms for supervised access by L.S.

The York Region Children’s Aid Society brought a motion for summary judgment seeking to find two children in need of protection and place them in extended society care with no parental access.

The parents opposed, seeking the children's return.

The court reviewed the extensive history of child protection involvement with the parents, including multiple previous summary judgments concerning their other children, and found overwhelming evidence that the parents had failed to address long-standing concerns regarding their parenting capacity, mental health, and cooperation with services.

The motion was granted, finding the children in need of protection and ordering extended society care with no parental access, while allowing sibling access at the Society's discretion.