Families And COVID

Across Ontario, Children’s Aid Societies have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by restricting in-person access between parents and children. The suspensions have affected families whose access was taking place at Society offices and access centres with supervision, as well as families where children are in kin placements.

CCLA has urged the Court to adopt a test for the suspension of face-to-face access between children and their parents which would require court orders to limit access, based on reliable and admissible evidence, where there is a demonstrated risk to the child or caregivers which cannot be mitigated, and where the impact of suspension is proportionate to the risk involved in maintaining access.

In the case of Children’s Aid Society of Toronto v. O.O. and J.A.G.L., the Children’s Aid Society decided that parents could no longer visit their infant who was in the temporary care of grandparents because of the health risks posed by COVID-19. The parents took the matter to Court and the Court decided that access could be suspended, despite the absence of any compelling medical evidence indicating that the child was at increased risk of infection and even though the parents and grandparents were all in favour of the parents having access.

The parents have appealed the decision and CCLA is intervening out of a concern for the due process rights of families implicated in child protection proceedings and to ensure that courts require parties to take into consideration meaningful evidence of risks even in our current context of a global pandemic.