CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD
BETWEEN:
DR Applicant
-and-
Family and Children’s Services of St. Thomas and Elgin Respondent
DECISION
Adjudicator: Michelaine Lahaie Date: December 17, 2025 Citation: 2025 CFSRB 185 Indexed as: DR v Family and Children’s Services of St. Thomas and Elgin (CYFSA s.120)
OVERVIEW
1This is an Application (the “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”).
2This is the seventh application that the Applicant has filed with 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 by the CFSRB and must be dismissed.
ANALYSIS
5In section 6 of the Application, the Applicant checked boxes indicating that the Respondent did not give him a chance to be heard when he raised his concerns, did not give him a chance to be heard when decisions that affected his interests were made, did not give him reasons for its decisions that affected his interests, refused to proceed with his complaint and did not follow its complaint review process or timelines.
6In section 6 of the Application where an applicant provides details of their complaint, the Applicant alleged that Respondent counsel had “knowingly provided false information to the CFSRB” in a previous application, which appears to be CA24-0183, based upon the email that accompanied the Application.
Does the Applicant’s complaint relate to a service provided to the Applicant by the Respondent?
7Subsection 120(1) of the Act states that a person may complain about a service they sought or received from a society and that complaint may be made to either the society or the CFSRB, or both.
8For a complaint to be eligible for review by the CFSRB under section 120 of the Act, an Applicant must meet two threshold tests. First, an Applicant must demonstrate that they have sought or received a service, as defined under subsection 2(1) of the Act, from a children’s aid society or Indigenous child and family well-being agency. Once that is established, then the CFSRB must determine whether the Applicant’s complaint set out in their application relates to the service they sought or received.
9Section 2(1) of the Act defines “service”:
a. a service for a chid with a developmental or physical disability or the child’s family,
b. a mental health service for a child or the child’s family,
c. a service related to residential care for a child,
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. (This refers to services prescribed within the Regulations to the Act. No other services have been prescribed within the Regulations).
10The Applicant alleges that the Respondent knowingly provided false information to the CFSRB in a previous complaint. His allegation does not describe a service sought or provided. As such, the Application does not pass the threshold test for having sought or received a service. Even if I had found that the allegation concerned a service sought or received, the allegation itself does not relate to a service sought or received. Therefore, the Application is not eligible for review by the CFSRB.
ORDER
11The Application is dismissed.
CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER
12Pursuant 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 17, 2025.
Michelaine Lahaie
Michelaine Lahaie Vice-Chair