How to File a Complaint Against CAS in Ontario

If you are unhappy with how a children's aid worker treated you, you are not without options. Ontario has complaint routes inside the society and outside it.

This article explains those routes, how a complaint differs from court proceedings and how to prepare. If your child is involved in a court case, speak to a lawyer before you act.

Step one: the society's internal complaint process

Anyone can make a formal written complaint to a children's aid society, and the society must have an internal panel to review it. Because it is in writing, you control what is said and keep a record. Ask the society for its complaint procedure so you know where to send it and what to expect.

Timelines for responses are not set out here, so ask the society directly and note the date you sent your complaint.

• The action or decision you are unhappy with, and the date it happened.
• The names of the people involved and what each of them said or did.
• What you would like to happen, stated in plain and calm words.

Keep your complaint accurate. Knowingly giving false information in a Part V application to the court is punishable by up to $5,000, one year in jail, or both. That rule is about court applications, but accuracy also keeps a complaint credible.

Step two: external review

• Child and Family Services Review Board: you can ask it to review a society decision.
• Ontario Ombudsman: you can complain to the Ombudsman.

These are different bodies with different roles. The Review Board looks at a society decision, so it helps to be clear about which decision you are challenging. Whether a particular concern fits one body better than another is worth confirming with a lawyer.

Different decisions also follow different processes. For example, after a child is brought to a place of safety, the matter must be brought before a court, the child must be returned, or an agreement must be made within five days. Any party can end a temporary care agreement by written notice, and it ends five days after the other parties actually receive the notice, or up to 21 days if the agreement sets a longer period. Knowing which process applies helps you describe your concern clearly.

A complaint is not a court appeal

A complaint asks the society or an outside body to look at a concern. How it relates to any court order depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer. To change an order, a parent can apply for a status review, where the court can vary or end the order, make a new one, or make a custody order. A parent generally must wait six months after the latest order, unless a major element of the plan of care is not being carried out.

Court deadlines continue regardless. For example, a parent must file and serve Form 33B.1 within 30 days of receiving a status review. Do not wait for a complaint outcome before meeting a deadline.

If your concern is about access to a child in care, the court can make, vary or end an access order in the child's best interests. Anyone other than the society asking to change access must generally wait six months after the relevant order, decision or appeal result before applying. Also, a parent should get advice from a lawyer before signing a Statement of Agreed Facts (Form 33C) in a child protection case.

Keep the law's expectations in mind

The Act's paramount purpose is the child's best interests, protection and well-being, and it also calls for the least disruptive appropriate course of action, including prevention, early intervention and community support services. Before a court removes a child, it must ask what efforts the society or others made to assist the child. Those expectations can frame a complaint about services you asked for or were not offered.

Before placing a child in society care, the court must also consider placing the child with a relative, neighbour, or other member of the child's community or extended family, under supervision and with that person's consent. If you have concerns about whether family or community options were looked at, say so clearly in your complaint and raise it with your lawyer.

Stay professional with workers. Obstructing a child protection worker acting under specified sections is punishable by up to $50,000, two years in jail, or both. If you are unhappy with a worker, the complaint routes described above are the place to raise it.

What to do next

• Write a timeline of events with dates, names and what was said.
• Gather emails, letters, texts and any documents from the society.
• Say clearly what you want, such as a review of a decision or a change in how you are contacted.
• Send your complaint in writing and keep a copy.
• Check your court calendar for deadlines.
• Ask a lawyer how the complaint may interact with your court case.

Frequently asked questions