WARNING

The court hearing this matter directs that the following notice be attached to the file:

This is a case under Part III of the Child and Family Services Act and is subject to one or more of subsections 45(7), 45(8) and 45(9) of the Act. These subsections and subsection 85(3) of the Child and Family Services Act, which deals with the consequences of failure to comply, read as follows:

45.— (7) ORDER EXCLUDING MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES OR PROHIBITING PUBLICATION — The court may make an order,

(c) prohibiting the publication of a report of the hearing or a specified part of the hearing,

where the court is of the opinion that . . . publication of the report, . . ., would cause emotional harm to a child who is a witness at or a participant in the hearing or is the subject of the proceeding.

(8) PROHIBITION: IDENTIFYING CHILD — No person shall publish or make public information that has the effect of identifying a child who is a witness at or a participant in a hearing or the subject of a proceeding, or the child's parent or foster parent or a member of the child's family.

(9) IDEM: ORDER RE ADULT — The court may make an order prohibiting the publication of information that has the effect of identifying a person charged with an offence under this Part.

85.— (3) IDEM — A person who contravenes subsection 45(8) or 76(11) (publication of identifying information) or an order prohibiting publication made under clause 45(7)(c) or subsection 45(9), and a director, officer or employee of a corporation who authorizes, permits or concurs in such a contravention by the corporation, is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both.

Court Information

Ontario Court of Justice

Date: 2018-02-09

Court File No.: Toronto CFO-13-10927-00A2

Between:

Children's Aid Society of Toronto Applicant

— And —

S.T. and M.C. Respondents

Before: Justice Alex Finlayson

Heard on: November 21, 2017

Initial Reasons for Judgment released: December 5, 2017

Additional hearing days: December 18, 2017; January 15, 22, and February 7, 2018

Additional Reasons for Judgment released: February 9, 2018

Counsel

Yvonne Fiamengo — counsel for the applicant society

No appearance by or on behalf of S.T. — even though served with notice

Lester Ramirez Cuellar — counsel for the respondent, M.C.

Herschel Gold — counsel for the Office of the Children's Lawyer for A.C. and S.C.

Decision

ALEX FINLAYSON J.:

Background

[1] The Respondent, M.C., is the father of two boys, A.C. (age 12) and S.C. (age 11). The children have been in the temporary care and custody of the Society since November 29, 2013 pursuant to the Order of Justice Scully.

[2] The Respondent mother, S.T., did not participate in the proceedings before me. Justice Pawagi noted her in default on October 17, 2017.

[3] The Society moved for Summary Judgment before me on November 21, 2017. I released a lengthy written decision on December 5, 2017, in which I found the children in need of protection pursuant to section 37(2)(i) of the Child and Family Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, as amended, but I directed a trial respecting the disposition of this matter. See Children's Aid Society of Toronto v. S.T., 2017 ONCJ 833.

Key Issues

[4] Two significant issues in this case are the father's lack of suitable housing for himself and the children, and whether the Society had met its duty to provide services and support family reunification.

Initial Directions (December 5, 2017)

[5] In the Reasons released December 5, 2017, I found that the Society filed insufficient evidence to support its assertion that it had been "diligent" in trying to assist the father respecting housing. When the Summary Judgment motion was argued, the Society told the Court that there is a program through which the father could apply for rent assistance. As stated in the December 5, 2017 reasons, I was not given any details as to the specifics of the program, nor about the extent to which the father was made aware of this program, or directed to it.

[6] In the Reasons dated December 5, 2017, I directed the Society to provide very specific details concerning this program in writing to the father. I also ordered the Society to take all other reasonable steps to assist the father with securing housing pending trial.

[7] I ordered the father to submit a proposed schedule for his access pending trial, and I invited him to make submissions concerning whether the Court should order any other conditions, whether financial and non-financial, to assist him to secure housing pending trial.

[8] The Society challenged this Court's jurisdiction to make an order requiring the Society to expend funds. However, during the submissions, it was also suggested that there may be additional funding available to the father through Ontario Works. I required additional evidence about this before deciding the issue.

[9] Therefore, I directed further submissions and adjourned the matter to December 18, 2017.

Society's Housing Assistance Plan (December 18, 2017)

[10] Next, on December 7, 2017, the Society provided the father with a detailed plan to assist the father with housing pending trial. This detail was substantially absent from the Society's summary judgment motion materials. The Society's plan was marked as Exhibit 1 on the December 18, 2017 return date. On that date, I was also told that a new Family Services Worker had been assigned to work with the father.

[11] The Society's plan pending trial is:

(a) The Society will meet with the father and his housing support worker to discuss any barriers to his housing search to ascertain what, if any, other supports the father will require;

(b) The Society will advocate to Ontario Works to support the father in securing funding for first and last months' rent;

(c) If Ontario Works cannot provide the funds or cannot provide the funds described above in a timely manner, the Society can make a request to the Branch Director for a one-time payment for first and last month rent, which will be issued in the form of a cheque payable to the landlord. Conditions for this one-time payment include that the father will provide the full name of the landlord and address of the housing unit, and that the Family Service Worker will view the housing unit and speak with the landlord. The Branch Director is able to write a cheque on these terms and usually within a 24 hour period. The Society may seek reimbursement from Ontario Works;

(d) The Society cannot provide funds for ongoing rental payments and does not have funds available for this purpose;

(e) The Society will advocate to Ontario Works to provide ongoing funding for the father's housing. Ontario Works, in some situations, can make payments directly to the landlord;

(f) The Society will meet with the father at his current home to explore whether increased access with the children can take place in his current residence; and

(g) The Society can provide limited funds to assist the father during a period of increased access with the purchase of food (food vouchers), entertainment (i.e. movie passes, museum admission, theatre tickets, tickets to sporting events – subject to availability), and extra-curricular activities for the children (i.e. swimming, soccer, karate).

Additional Supports if Reunification Plan Developed

[12] If a specific reunification plan is developed[1]:

(a) The Society can provide funds to cover the gap before payment of the Child Tax Credit takes effect (typically three months);

(b) The Society can seek funding from the Children Aid Society Foundation for items for the children as requested by the parent such as camp, sports equipment, school uniforms, bedding;

(c) The Society can assist families with provisions of cribs/beds for children when the need is an emergency;

(d) The Society can provide the family with one-time payment of emergency funds for items such as winter coats or boots;

(e) The Society can provide a letter of support to the Furniture Bank, wherein the family can be provided with furniture at no cost. The Society can provide funding for transportation of the goods to the family's home; and

(f) The Society can advocate on behalf of the family to Ontario Works to access any start-up funding they may be able to provide to families who are reunifying for items such as furniture, bedding and clothing.

[13] The Society also advised the Court that it was paying $120 per day per child for the children in foster care.

Father's Proposed Plan

[14] The father presented a plan for housing and access, which was made Exhibit 2. The father's plan sets out different scenarios, but the plan includes a request that the Society pay $4,400 to him, representing approximately four months' rent. It also includes some of the other funding items referenced in the Society's plan. He asks for a dedicated case aide to assist his housing search, and he asked for increased access immediately, with overnights to follow once accommodations are secured.

Access Order (December 18, 2017)

[15] On December 18, 2017, I granted an order on consent expanding the father's access to occur on Thursdays, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Saturdays from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm and Sundays from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. I was prepared to entertain a request for overnight access but the father did not ask me to make such an order as he wishes to secure housing first.

[16] I also directed that the father's Ontario Works worker to attend Court and give evidence concerning the funding that is available to the father and the circumstances under which it would be made available, if the father was now in fact asking the Court to make an Order requiring the Society to pay for rent pending trial. I made this direction as I had heard submissions previously about the difficulty the father had securing housing through Ontario Works' funding program.

[17] The parties, counsel and the Court completed the Trial Management Endorsement on December 18, 2017.

[18] I then adjourned this matter to January 15, 2018.

Ontario Works Evidence (January 15, 2018)

[19] At the January 15, 2018 return date, I received additional affidavit evidence from the father and from the Society. I also heard viva voce evidence from Ontario Works Caseworker, Elena Guerkova. Ms. Guerkova has been the father's caseworker for over one year. Ms. Guerkova's evidence was extremely helpful and facilitated the resolution of this motion.

[20] Regarding his current benefits, Ms. Guerkova testified that father receives a food allowance of $354.00 per month. This is for himself and two children, even though the children are in care. When he secures housing, he will be eligible for up to an additional $686 per month. Additionally, he will receive $1,129.66 in the combined Canada Child Tax Benefit and Ontario Child Benefits for the two children each month, if the children are returned to his care.

[21] In the meantime, Ms. Guerkova told the Court that the father may be eligible to receive a transition child tax benefit of $230.00 per child while the children are in the care of the Society. Ms. Guerkova's evidence was that she thought he was eligible for those funds, retroactively to April of 2017.

[22] Ms. Guerkova also told the Court that the father is eligible to receive a transportation allowance if he participates in a structured job search program and there is funding available if he enrols in an Ontario Works employment specific training program. Ms. Guerkova testified that Ontario Works is flexible about the amount of time that it expects the father to devote to the job search program at this time, given that he is actively pursuing the return of the children to his care.

Transition Child Tax Benefit (January 17, 2018)

[23] Because Ms. Guerkova was not fully certain about the father's eligibility for the transition child benefit, her evidence was not completed on January 15, 2018. I adjourned the motion to January 22, 2018 to permit Ms. Guerkova to make necessary enquiries. Two days later on January 17, 2018, Ms. Guerkova confirmed in writing that Ontario Works had issued the father a cheque for $4,600, representing 10 months of the transition child benefit from April 2017 to January 2018. On the January 22, 2018 return date, on consent, I marked Ms. Guerkova's January 17, 2018 letter as Exhibit 3 and Ms. Guerkova was not required to give any further viva voce evidence.

[24] The motion was not completed on January 22, 2018 because one of the lawyers was ill. Instead, on February 7, 2018, I heard submissions respecting the additional evidence received after the release of the December 5, 2017 reasons.

Resolution of Motion (February 7, 2018)

[25] As a result of his receipt of the transition child benefit, the father abandoned his request that the Society pay $4,400 for rent.

[26] As set out above, a new Family Service Worker has been assigned. The father stated that he was no longer asking the Court to make any further Orders to compel the Society to assist him pending trial at this time. The father and the Society assured the Court that they will work cooperatively respecting the father's search for housing, and they will attempt to address any issues that arise on an ad hoc basis.

[27] Despite that, the father did ask that I further adjourn this motion again, to ensure the Society makes genuine efforts as it undertook to do in its December 7, 2017 letter. I told the parties that I was not prepared to do this. That said, the father may seek leave by way of 14B motion to bring a further motion pending trial, if any further issues arise respecting his housing search or respecting overnight access.

Next Steps and Trial Schedule

[28] The next date in this matter is a Settlement Conference before Justice Scully on March 5, 2018 at 2:00 pm. Thereafter, there shall be a further Trial Management Conference on April 12, 2018 at 2:00 pm before me, if this matter does not settle. Trial dates are set in this matter from May 7 to 11, 2018 and May 15, 2018.

Administrative Directions

[29] The Court requests that the Society send a process server to the Court with a Volume 2 of the Continuing Record. The following documents currently filed loose in the Court file shall be inserted into the second volume of the Continuing Record:

(a) the father's affidavit sworn November 16, 2017 (to be Tab 1);

(b) the father's affidavit sworn January 11, 2018 (to be Tab 2); and

(c) the affidavit of Family Service Worker David Grant sworn January 12, 2018 (to be Tab 3)

[30] Going forward, the filing counter shall ensure that documents are placed in the Continuing Record in accordance with the Rules and not filed loose in the Court file.

Released: February 9, 2018

Signed: Justice Alex Finlayson

[1] At this stage, the Society seeks to make the children Crown wards.