TD v. Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child & Family Services, 2025 CFSRB 138

BETWEEN:

TD Applicant

-and-

Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child & Family Services Respondent

DECISION

Adjudicator: Tracy Foster Date: October 07, 2025 Citation: 2025 CFSRB 138 Indexed As: TD v Dnaagdawenmag Binnoojiiyag Child & Family Services (CYFSA s.119/120)

OVERVIEW

1This is an Application filed under section 120 and section 119 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c.14, Sched.1, (the "Act").

2This decision explains why the Application is not eligible for review by the CFSRB.

ISSUE

3The issue is:

Is the Application eligible for review by the CFSRB?

RESULT

4The CFSRB finds that the Application is not eligible for review.

ANALYSIS

5The Applicant is the grandmother of a child (the "Child") named in the Application. The Applicant complains about services the Respondent provided or failed to provide to the Child and the Applicant's daughter, who is the mother of the Child.

6In paragraph 6 of the Application, where an applicant identifies why they have applied to the CFSRB, the Applicant checked off the following boxes:

The Society did not give you a chance to be heard when decisions that affected your interests were made
The Society did not give you a chance to be heard when decisions that affected your interests were made.
The Society did not give you reasons for its decisions that affect your interests.
The Society refused to proceed with your complaint.
The Society did not follow its complaint review process or timelines.

The CFSRB cannot review a non-parent's complaints about not being heard

7The first two boxes checked in paragraph 6 of the Application relate to the right to be heard, section 120(4)4 of the Act.

Section 120(4)4 defines complaints that the CFSRB may review: "Allegations that the society has failed to comply with subsection 15 (2)." Subsection 15(2) of the Act limits the right to be heard to "children and young persons and their parents."

Section 120(4)4 is therefore limited to "children and young persons and their parents."

8The Applicant is not the parent of the Child. Therefore, the CFSRB does not have the jurisdiction to review the Applicant's complaints about not being heard by the Respondent.

The CFSRB cannot review complaints from individuals who did not receive a service from a society

9The third box checked in paragraph 6 of the Application relates to the right to be provided reasons for a society's decisions, section 120(4)5 of the Act.

10The CFSRB has the jurisdiction to review complaints from individuals who sought or received services from a children's aid society or Indigenous child and family well-being agency ("society") about the items listed in paragraph 6 of the Application.

Subsection 120(1) of the Act states that, if a person has "a complaint in respect of a service sought or received from a society" and the complaint "relates to a matter described in subsection 120(4)" (which is those items listed in paragraph 6 of the Application), "the person who sought or received the service may decide" to make a complaint to either the society or the CFSRB.

Subsection 2(1) of the Act, defines "service":

"service" includes,

(a) a service for a child with a developmental or physical disability or the child's family,

(b) a mental health service for a child or the child's family,

(d) a service for a child who is or may be in need of protection or the child's family,

(e) a service related to adoption for a child, the child's family or others,

(f) counselling for a child or the child's family,

(g) a service for a child or the child's family that is in the nature of support or prevention and that is provided in the community,

(h) a service or program for or on behalf of a young person for the purposes of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada) or the Provincial Offences Act, or

(i) a prescribed service; ("service")

11The jurisdiction for the CFSRB to hear complaints under subsection 120(4)5 applies only to those who have sought or received services.

12Although it appears that the Child and the Applicant's daughter are in receipt of services from the Respondent, there is no information in the Application that demonstrates that the Applicant has sought or received any service from the Respondent as defined in the Act.

The CFSRB can only review complaints about whether a society proceeded with a complaint and/or followed its complaint process or timeline from those who sought or received a service from the society and made a formal complaint to the society that complies with the Regulation

13The last box checked by the Applicant indicates the Society did not follow its complaint review process or timelines, which relates to sections 120(4)1, 2 and 3, and section 119(1) and (2) of the Act.

14There are two requirements in order for the CFSRB to review a complaint regarding a society not proceeding with a complaint and/or not following its complaint review process or timeline:

First, the Applicant must have received or sought a service from the society as described in paragraph 10 above.
Second, the Applicant must have submitted a formal complaint to the society in the format described in paragraphs 14 and 15 below.

15 Section 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.

16 Subsection 119(2) of the Act requires that (in addition to having received or sought a service from the society), a complaint to a children's aid society be made in the format set out in the Regulation. This includes the filing of a specific "Formal Complaint to a Society's Internal Complaints Review Panel (ICRP)" form.

17There is no information in the Application that demonstrates that the Applicant has sought or received any service from the Respondent as defined in the Act.

ORDER

18The Application is dismissed.

CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER

19Pursuant 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.

Tracy Foster

Member