CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD
BETWEEN:
JE
Applicant
-and-
Wabaseemoong Child Welfare Authority
Respondent
DECISION
Adjudicator: Tracy Foster
Date: June 17, 2025
Citation: 2025 CFSRB 79
Indexed As: JE v Wabaseemoong Child Welfare Authority (CYFSA s.120)
OVERVIEW
1This is an Application filed under section 120 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c.14, Sched.1, (the “Act”).
2The Applicant is foster parent of three children. She claims the Respondent has not heard her concerns about the removal of the children from her home.
3This decision explains why the Application is not eligible for review by the CFSRB.
ISSUE
4The issue is:
a. Is the Application eligible for review by the CFSRB?
RESULT
5The CFSRB finds that the Application is not eligible for review.
ANALYSIS
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 you raised your concerns.
The Society did not give you a chance to be heard when decisions that affected your interests were made.
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 Applicant checked off the first two boxes which 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.”
The CFSRB Can Only Review Formal Complaints Made to the Society that Comply with the Regulation
8The last two boxes checked by the Applicant indicate that the Society refused to proceed with your complaint and did not follow its complaint review process or timelines.
9Section 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.
10Subsection 119(2) of the Act requires that 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. Subsections 120(4)1, 120(4)2, and 120(4)3 of the Act permit the CFSRB to review the way a children’s aid society has dealt with a section 119 complaint only when the complaint is in the required format.
11The Applicant did not file or provide information in her Application to support that she made a complaint to the Respondent in the form required by the Regulation.
12As such, the CFSRB does not have the jurisdiction to review the Applicant’s complaints about not being heard by the Respondent.
The CFSRB Can Only Review Applications Involving Organizations Falling under Provincial Jurisdiction
13On June 16, 2025, the Respondent provided a submission to the CFSRB that it does not fall under Provincial jurisdiction.
14Given my finding that the Application is ineligible for review based on paragraphs 7-12, it is not necessary for me to decide this jurisdictional issue.
ORDER
15The Application is dismissed.
CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER
16Pursuant 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, June 17, 2025.
Tracy Foster
Tracy Foster
Member