WG and MG v Children’s Aid Society Toronto, 2024 CFSRB 33

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD

BETWEEN:

WG and MG Applicants

-and-

Children’s Aid Society Toronto Respondent

DECISION

Adjudicator: Caroline Sand Date: March 22, 2024 Citation: 2024 CFSRB 33 Indexed As: WG and MG v Children’s Aid Society Toronto (CYFSA s.120)

Introduction

1This is an Application filed with the Child and Family Services Review Board (“CFSRB”) under section 120 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c.14, Sched.1, (the “Act”).

2The Applicants filed a complaint with the Board in response to the Society’s decision to terminate the Applicants’ General Subsidies.

3This decision explains why the Application is not eligible for review by the CFSRB.

The Law

4Section 119(1) of the Act states:

A person may make a complaint to a society relating to a service sought or received by that person from the society in accordance with the regulations.

5Section 120(1) of the Act states:

If a complaint in respect of a service sought or received from a society relates to a matter described in subsection (4), the person who sought or received the service may,

(a) decide not to make the complaint to the society under section 119 and make the complaint directly to the Board under this section; or

(b) where the person first makes the complaint to the society under section 119, submit the complaint to the Board before the society’s complaint review procedure is completed.

6Section 56 of Ontario Regulation 156/18 General Matters Under the Authority of the Minister (the “Regulation”) states:

A complaint to a society under subsection 119(1) of the Act must be made in the form entitled “Formal Complaint to a Society’s Internal Complaints Review Panel (ICRP)” and dated 2020/11, available on a website of the Government of Ontario.

Analysis

7In Paragraph 6 of the Application, where an applicant identifies why they have applied to the CFSRB, the Applicants checked off the following box:

• The Society refused to proceed with your complaint.

8The box checked by the Applicants relates to a refusal by the Respondent to proceed with the Applicants’ complaint.

9Section 119(2) of the Act requires complaints to a children’s aid society be in the specific format set out in the Regulation, i.e., on the “Formal Complaint to a Society’s Internal Complaints Review Panel (ICRP)” form. Sections 120(4)1, 120(4)2 and 120(4)3 of the Act permit a CFSRB review of the way in which the children’s aid society has dealt with a section 119 complaint only if the complaint to the children’s aid society is in the required format. In this case, the Applicant has not made a complaint to the Respondent on the required form.

10The Applicants did not file or provide information in their Application to support that they made a complaint to the Respondent in the form required by the Regulation.

11Further, the Applicants are the children’s foster parents, and as such, they are providing a service, and not seeking or receiving a service.

12For the above reasons, the CFSRB lacks jurisdiction to review the Application.

ORDER

13The Application is dismissed.

Confidentiality Order

14Pursuant to Rules 9.3 and 9.4 of the CFSRB’s Rules of Procedure, parties and their representatives must not use, share, discuss or disclose any CFSRB documents or decisions, or any other documents or information provided or used in this Application, with anyone including through the media or online. The CFSRB prohibits the use of any of this information for any purpose outside of the CFSRB’s proceedings, except with an order of the Court or the CFSRB, as appropriate.