Footnotes: The Children's Aid Society of Ontario has no jurisdiction or mandate that covers unborn children therefore they cannot interfere with your life until the child is born without your consent.
1. Secretly Record Everything, and everyone connected with the Children's Aid Society's case including CAS workers, Police, Doctors, Counselors, Lawyer and if you use a Daycare, them too. You have the right to record under Section 183.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada. If you don't need the recordings, later you can decide what to do with it after your case is over. If these people are doing what they should be doing and not lying, misleading or breaking the law you can always delete the recordings after you are done with CAS. If you do catch them you can use the recordings to prove perjury and possibly later file a large compensatory lawsuit. Remember it is important that you secretly record, do not let any of the above people know you are doing it or you will not get them acting in bad faith.
2. Never sign anything, don't volunteer information. If you have signed consents you should immediately notify the Children's Aid Society's and the professional, person, office, or agency that you have withdrawn those permissions and or consents. If you must sign a consent make sure you write in “this consent is limited to only the written transfer of information”, all other methods such as information transferred by telephone or personal conversations are not admissible in court regarding this file (and add the file number). If the CAS refuses this consent written in this manner (cross out and initial the crossed out section) they can explain to the judge why and what evidence they have that requires them to have such information, and the judge can order them if needed. Often times CAS will trick you into signing them in a manner that they can easily be misinterpreted and manipulated, don't be fooled. If you need further help on this issue please contact one of the great advocates on the group Helping Innocent Families Fight Back Against Ontarios Childrens Aid Society or a lawyer before you sign anything. If you are forced to sign a consent by being ordered to, argue that all information that the CAS is requesting be requested in writing and a copy of all material received be submitted in its entirety, the courts continuing record and a copy sent to you not your lawyer.
Also
if the CAS or courts make or order you to sign a document(s) and you don't
feel you should but have to to save your kids, mark on it that you
signed it under duress. And take a photo of it.
*Duress,
in a contractual context, refers to a situation where a person is
pressured into signing a document they would not have signed without
that pressure. The most common form of duress is coercion.
3. Demand that Children's Aid Society put any concerns it has in writing so that you may take them to your lawyer to arrange a meeting to discuss possible resolution, at which point you will arrange to come with your lawyer and discuss that solution.
4. Always expect the worst case scenario when considering Children's Aid Society's motives and desires, they will likely pretend to be helping you when in fact they are working to get a stranglehold on you and your family. Never give CAS more information then they need, make your answers short and to the point.
5. Require everything from CAS to be in writing. CAS does not like to be held accountable for bad faith actions or breaches of law. CAS creates policy's that allow them maximum deniability. In other words they want to say and do things that they can easily deny or cover up. Also you can demand things be in writing if you have a language barrier, learning disability or are hard of hearing. Be sure to secretly record any verbal refusal.
6. Keep a folder of all the papers you receive (including the envelopes that you receive them in, and mark on the envelope that date you received it in the mail). Have one set of papers that is kept in chronological order in which they were received including the papers you served or filed. We suggest you make a second copy to use as a working copy. This way your papers are organized and you have a spare set if you ever need it. If you can, make a 3rd set of papers to store off site at a family or friends house and keep it up to date.
7. Also Secretly Record any visits with your kids, we do not recommend using your cell phone to record, an audio recorder does a much better job. You have the right to record under Section 183.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada. We also recommend you bring a camera, a cellphone camera to photograph any marks on your kids. Always make backups of your recordings daily and store a local copy in something like Google Drive, Drop Box or the Cloud and a copy of all recordings should be stored in a location off site as well.
8. You are under no obligation to let the Children's Aid into your home without a court order unless they are there to apprehend under Section 81 (1) Warrant to bring child to place of safety or 81(7) Apprehension without warrant under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (Ontario). But if you do, never let the Children's Aid move freely about your home for any reason, allow them to see common area's such as the living room, play room, and the child's room only. Never allow your worker to use your restroom for any reason, if your worker asks to use your bathroom, provide them with the closest public bathroom to your home such as a gas station or store. The reason for this is because they can snoop through your medicine cabinets and any other personal belongings in your bathroom, plus if they wanted to they could also illegally obtain hair samples from brushes, and the worst case scenario is they claim they found something in your bathroom that was illegal such as drugs. A lot can happen behind a closed door. With a cellphone camera anything can be staged as its your word against theirs.
9. If you are currently in court, under Section 94.1 of the Child, Youth and Family Service Act (Adjournments) The court shall not adjourn a hearing for more than 30 days,
(a) unless all the parties present and the person who will be caring for the child during the adjournment consent; or
(b) if the court is aware that a party who is not present at the hearing objects to the longer adjournment..
Children’s Aid cannot afford to be in court every 30 days.
10. If the CAS comes to your home to apprehend your child or children, be prepared to video or audio record this event, you have that right under Section 183.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada. In most cases the Children's Aid will come with Police, be sure to ask the Child Protection Worker under what Section of the Child,Youth and Family Service Act are they apprehending the child or children under and record that. The worker must know what section of the act they are performing the apprehension under.
11. If your children have already been apprehended by the Children’s Aid then the Children’s Aid must have you in court within 5 days. Children’s Aid may ask you to sign a consent waiving your rights to be in court within 5 days, Don’t do it, this will leave you at the mercy of the society without court intervention.
12. Also when you are in court after your children have been apprehended you must argue Section 94.4 of the Child, Youth and Family Service Act at every single court Adjournment. Section 94.4 (Criteria). The court shall not make an order under clause (2) (c) or (d) unless the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is a risk that the child is likely to suffer harm and that the child cannot be protected adequately by an order under clause (2) (a) or (b)..
The Society must prove at every Adjournment the child may be at risk of harm if they are returned home. If the Society cannot prove this the judge must return the child under Section 94.2 Where a hearing is adjourned, the court shall make a temporary order for care and custody providing that the child,
(a) remain in or be returned to the care and custody of the person who had charge of the child immediately before intervention under this Part;
(b) remain in or be returned to the care and custody of the person referred to in clause (a), subject to the society’s supervision and on such reasonable terms and conditions as the court considers appropriate;
(c) be placed in the care and custody of a person other than the person referred to in clause (a), with the consent of that other person, subject to the society’s supervision and on such reasonable terms and conditions as the court considers appropriate; or
(d) remain or be placed in the care and custody of the society, but not be placed in a place of temporary detention, of open or of secure custody..
13. 94 (1) The court shall not adjourn a hearing for more than 30 days,
(a) unless all the parties present and the person who will be caring for the child during the adjournment consent; or
(b) if the court is aware that a party who is not present at the hearing objects to the longer adjournment.
But because of family court backlogs, the court my not be able to accommodate such a timeline therefore must pick the next closest date.
14. Always remember CAS has no right to come around you when you are pregnant. The CAS mandate does not cover an unborn child. The only way CAS can be involved when you are pregnant is if you volunteer for their services. If the CAS refuses to leave tell them you will be contacting Police and you will also file a complaint with the Child and Family Services Review Board and the Ontario Ombudsman's Office. Once your child is born Under Section 81(1) Warrant to bring child to place of safety or 81(7) Apprehension without warrant they can remove the child at birth with or without a warrant, and as long as you do NOT sign anything to waive your rights away, CAS must have you in court within 5 days after that point to voice what their concerns are to the judge.
15. If you are before the court against your spouse in a Children's Aid Court Case fighting each other over the child, this tactic often does not play in your favor and will only prolong your Children's Aid Case and involvement. The Children's Aid Society loves it when the two spouses can't cooperate together as they will use it against you. The best way to get around this tactic of theirs is to find common ground where the two separating spouses can work together for the best interests of the child. Often one parent will get greedy and want the child all to themself and unless there is a reason for that there's no need you can't share the child. By agreeing to share the child will move you through the court system much faster.
16. One important tip to always remember is never let the Children's Aid separate you and your spouse for no reason, The Children's Aid will do their best to get you and your spouse working against each other as this is a common tactic for them. The best way to defeat the Children's Aid Society is always work together with your spouse and record everything as they will play you against your spouse. The strongest tool you have against the Children's Aid is each other, don't let Children's Aid separate you. This tactic is called divide and conquer.
