CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD
BETWEEN:
NB
Applicant
-and-
Bruce Grey Child and Family Services
Respondent
INTERIM DECISION
Adjudicator: Michelaine Lahaie
Indexed as: NB v Bruce Grey Child and Family Services (CYFSA s.120)
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
NB, Applicant
Self-represented
Bruce Grey Child and Family Services, Respondent
OVERVIEW
1This is an Application (“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 Applicant filed his Application with the CFSRB on November 8, 2025. The Application was found eligible to proceed under section 120(4)4 and section 120(4)5 on November 17, 2025. The Respondent filed their response on November 27, 2025.
3On November 24, 2025, the Applicant filed a motion with the CFRSB seeking to have the CFSRB order the Respondent to provide copies of certain specified records within ten days.
ISSUE
4The issue is: Shall the motion for an order by the Applicant directing the Respondent to produce specific records be granted?
RESULT
5The Applicant’s request for an order directing the Respondent to produce specific records is denied.
ANALYSIS
6The Applicant seeks to have the following documents disclosed in an unredacted form:
a. All Intake Reports, Activity Logs and Case Notes for the period from April 1, 2025 to May 31, 2025; and
b. Specific documentation relating to an intervention at the Applicant’s home on May 22, 2025.
7The Applicant stated that he had submitted a formal request for the same files under Part X of the Act and had recently been informed by the Respondent that these documents would not be released until mid-February 2026.
8In his motion, the Applicant argued that an order directing the Respondent to provide certain unredacted documents was necessary to ensure that the Application could proceed to a pre-hearing without delay. The Applicant also argued that awaiting the disclosure of these documents to proceed with a pre-hearing would deny him a timely resolution to his complaints.
Disclosure under the CFSRB Rules of Procedure
9According to the CFSRB Rules of Procedure, applications filed under s.120 of the Act will always proceed to a pre-hearing. That pre-hearing is to be scheduled within 40 days of the CFSRB determining that the Application is eligible to proceed. For this Application, that means that a pre-hearing must occur on or before January 2, 2026. At the initial pre-hearing, parties will be offered an opportunity to mediate. Should mediation not lead to a settlement agreement, the logistics for a hearing on the merits will be determined. This will include amongst other things, the dates for disclosure of documents between parties.
10The individual’s right of access to a record of personal information as contemplated in Part X of the Act is separate and distinct from the disclosure process as described in Rule 6 of the CFSRB Rules of Procedure. Rule 6 states that the parties must disclose to the other parties any evidence that they wish to submit during the hearing. The CFSRB may order a party to disclose documents, witness statements, reports of expert witnesses, or to provide further particulars and may issue directions respecting the use of personal information contained in the documents disclosed. The documents required for a hearing may be quite different from the documents that a party seeks to obtain through a request made under the individual’s right of access to a record of personal information.
CFSRB Jurisdiction
11The authorities held by the CFSRB for complaints filed under Section 120 of the Act are procedural, rather than substantive. For such complaints, the CFSRB does not act as an appeal body for decisions made by the Society. Rather, hearings held under s.120(4)4 and s.120(4)5 determine whether the Respondent provided the Applicant with an opportunity to be heard when decisions that affect their interests were made and whether the Respondent provided the Applicant with reasons for such decisions. The Board does not make findings regarding child protection determinations against the Applicant because these issues do not fall within the Board’s jurisdiction.
ORDER
12The Applicant’s motion is dismissed.
13The Application will proceed to a full-day Pre-Hearing on December 17, 2025.
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.
Dated, December 02, 2025.
Michelaine Lahaie
Michelaine Lahaie
Vice-Chair