The Children's Aid Society of Toronto brought a summary judgment motion seeking a finding that a five-year-old child was in need of protection under section 37(2)(b) of the Child and Family Services Act and a Crown wardship disposition to free the child for adoption.
The child's mother opposed the motion but was unprepared at the hearing and had recently changed counsel.
The court denied the mother's adjournment request and proceeded with the motion.
The court found no genuine issue requiring a trial on any of the society's claims or the mother's counterclaim for return of the child to her custody.
The child's need for protection was grounded in the mother's chronic cocaine addiction and inability to maintain long-term sobriety despite multiple treatment attempts over more than two years.
The court found that less intrusive options, including return to the mother or society wardship, were not appropriate given the child's need for stable, permanent parenting and the mother's demonstrated pattern of relapse.
The court granted the society's motion and made the child a Crown ward for the purpose of adoption.
