Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c. 14 - Bill 89

• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Bill Number: 89
• Date: 01 June 2017

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 89 and does not form part of the law. Bill 89 has been enacted as Chapter 14 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2017.

The Bill is divided into four Schedules.

Schedule 1 repeals the Child and Family Services Act and enacts the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 in its place.

Schedule 2 amends the Child and Family Services Act while it is still in force, that is, before its repeal by Schedule 1.

Schedule 3 amends the new Act, the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017.

Schedule 4 contains related and other amendments to 36 other Acts.

schedule 1
Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017

The current Act refers throughout to Indian and native children, and gives certain rights of notice and participation to a representative chosen by the child’s band or native community. The new Act refers to First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and young persons, and gives rights of notice and participation to a representative chosen by each of the child’s or young person’s bands and First Nations, Inuit or Métis communities. All references to a child’s or young person’s bands and First Nations, Inuit or Métis communities in the new Act include any band of which the child or young person is a member, any band with which the child or young person identifies, any First Nations, Inuit or Métis community that is listed in a regulation and of which the child or young person is a member, and any First Nations, Inuit or Métis community that is listed in a regulation and with which the child or young person identifies.

Significant changes are made to terminology. The terms society ward and Crown ward are no longer used. Instead, the new Act refers to children who are in interim society care or extended society care, respectively. The new Act does not refer to children being abandoned or to runaways. And the new Act speaks of bringing children to a place of safety, instead of being apprehended, and of dealing with matters, not dealing with children.

The new Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 is, like the current Child and Family Services Act, divided into Parts. Following is an explanation of each Part and, in particular, how each differs from the current Act.

Part I Purpose and Interpretation

The paramount purpose of the Act — to promote the best interests, protection and well-being of children — remains unchanged from the current Act.

The additional purposes of the Act are expanded to include the following:

To recognize that services to children and young persons should be provided in a manner that respects regional differences wherever possible and takes into account,

physical, emotional, spiritual, mental and developmental needs and differences among children and young persons;

a child’s or young person’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression; and

a child’s or young person’s cultural and linguistic needs.

To recognize that services to children and young persons and their families should be provided in a manner that builds on the strengths of the families wherever possible.

One of the additional purposes in the current Act is to recognize that services to Indian and native children and families should be provided in a manner that recognizes their culture, heritage and traditions, and the concept of the extended family. This is amended to refer to First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and young persons and families and to their cultures, heritages and traditions and is expanded to also recognize connection to their communities.

There is no longer specific reference to a child’s or young person’s religion in the additional purposes of the Act. However, a child’s or young person’s creed is listed as one of several factors to be considered throughout the new Act. “Creed” is defined to include religion.

Part II Children’s and Young Persons’ Rights

This consolidates the rights of children and young persons found in section 2 and Parts I and V of the current Act.

New provisions are added as follows: restricting service providers and foster parents from using physical restraint on children and young persons except as authorized by the regulations, and from using mechanical restraints on children and young persons except as permitted by Parts VI (Youth Justice) and VII (Extraordinary Measures) and the regulations. The provision in the current Act prohibiting service providers from detaining a child in locked premises except as authorized under the Youth Justice and Extraordinary Measures parts of that Act is maintained; it now expressly applies to foster parents as well as service providers and in respect of young persons as well as children.

In addition, a new statement of rights of children and young persons is added at the outset of the Part, including their right to express their own views freely and safely, to be engaged through honest and respectful dialogue, to have their views given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity and to be informed, in language suitable to their understanding, of their rights and of the existence and role of, and how to contact, the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth. The procedures in the current Act for making complaints against service providers regarding alleged violations of the rights of children also applies under the new Act to complaints regarding limitations or conditions imposed on visitors and visits. A child or other person may make a complaint as an individual or as part of a group.

Part III Funding and Accountability

This Part replaces Part I of the current Act. There are several additions as follows.

The Minister may designate entities as lead agencies, which must perform the functions assigned to the lead agency’s category by the regulations. The Minister may issue binding directives to certain service providers and lead agencies. A program supervisor may issue compliance orders to certain service providers and lead agencies for failure to comply with, among other things, the Act, the regulations or the directives.

The functions of children’s aid societies are set out in this Part and remain essentially the same. One change is that societies are now responsible for investigating allegations that a child is in need of protection and for protecting children in their care, for all children up to the age of 18; in the current Act, these responsibilities are limited to children younger than 16 and to 16 and 17 year olds who are subject to protection orders.

This Part now includes a requirement that every society enter into an accountability agreement with the Minister as a condition of receiving funding; this is currently a requirement in the regulations under the Act, and is being made a statutory requirement in the new Act.

The Minister may issue binding directives to societies. A Director may issue compliance orders to societies for failure to comply with, among other things, the Act, the regulations, an accountability agreement or the directives.

If a society fails to comply with a compliance order, or if the Minister considers it to be in the public interest, the Minister may make a variety of different orders, including ordering a society to take corrective action, suspending, amending or revoking the society’s designation, appointing or replacing members of the society’s board of directors, designating or replacing a chair of the board, or appointing a supervisor to operate and manage the society. Unless certain conditions exist, the Minister must notify the society of the intention to make such an order, and the society has a right to make a written response.

This Part sets out rules for two or more societies that are proposing to amalgamate and to continue as one society. The Minister may order that a society amalgamate with one or more other societies, or undertake other types of restructuring, if the Minister considers it to be in the public interest. The Minister must notify the society of the intention to make such an order and the society has a right to make a written response to the directions contained in the order, but not to the requirement to amalgamate. In certain circumstances, the Minister may also appoint a supervisor to implement or facilitate the implementation of such an order. A society that receives notice of a proposed order to amalgamate or otherwise restructure must give a copy of the notice to affected employees and their bargaining agents, and on receipt of a final order to amalgamate or otherwise restructure, the society must give notice of the order to affected employees and their bargaining agents and other persons or entities whose contracts are affected by the order, and must make the order available to the public.

The rules for allowing a program supervisor to enter and inspect certain premises to determine compliance with the Act and the regulations are expanded. This Part now sets out rules for such inspections without and with a warrant.

Provisions governing residential placement advisory committees have been moved from Part II (Voluntary Access to Services) in the current Act to this Part in the new Act with the following changes: the current Act lists persons to be included in the committees, while the new Act provides that the committees may include the listed persons; the new Act requires the committees to report to the Minister on their activities annually and on request; the right to object to a residential placement and to ask the Child and Family Services Review Board to review a committee’s decision in respect of a residential placement is no longer limited to children 12 or older.

Part IV First Nations, Inuit and Métis Child and Family Services

This Part replaces Part X of the current Act.

Under the current Act, the Minister may designate native...