The Ford government is pushing forward changes to how child welfare organizations report financial decisions in newly tabled legislation — before a series of monetary investigations launched last fall have wrapped up.
On Thursday, Education Minister Paul Calandra tabled an omnibus bill focused on the province’s school boards, with changes included for children’s aid societies and universities as well.
As part of the bill, if passed, the government will require children’s aid societies to review and update their bylaws before making them publicly available. The government will also consult on how to make the time and content of board meetings public for the arms-length, taxpayer-funded organizations.
Regulations will follow the passing of the bill that will also increase oversight of some financial decisions made by children’s aid societies.
Those tweaks for children’s aid societies, the government said, will bring transparency to a sector which has been under the spotlight for some time.
“The changes we are proposing would strengthen oversight and accountability for children’s aid societies,” Michael Parsa, the minister of children, community and social services, said in a statement.
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“This is part of our ongoing efforts to improve the lives of children and youth who are involved with the child welfare system. It is another important step towards ensuring all children and youth in Ontario are aware of their rights, and receive the care, support, and protection they deserve.”
The CEO of the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies, Solomon Owoo, said in a statement that he was in favour of the announced intentions — but would need to study the details.
“While we are still in the process of reviewing the proposed legislation, we support the government’s desire to improve the lives of children, youth and families receiving services from child welfare agencies,” he said in a statement.
The financial oversight changes, however, come before the results of a series of monetary audits of children’s aid societies announced by the government last year.
In the fall, the government announced it would be probing the finances of the province’s children’s aid organizations — citing lower numbers of children in care and increasing costs and deficits.
The investigations being led by KPMG are currently underway and will be published when they are completed — tentatively before spring turns to summer.
Parsa said announcing new financial oversight and regulation of children’s aid before the results of the financial studies were known to him or the public was not putting the cart before the horse.
“The review, as I mentioned, even when we initiated the review, is just another tool that we are utilizing,” he said. “And I’ve been very clear, we’re never going to stop looking at ways to better protect youth in care. The review is just one step.”
The latest push for more financial and governance oversight at children’s aid comes after a growing focus on issues at some institutions.
A review of York Children’s Aid Society was announced in 2020 after allegations of bullying and racism, while the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society was recently taken under the control of a provincial supervisor.
Peel Children’s Aid Society is locked in a lawsuit with its former financial director over alleged financial mismanagement that resulted in arrests and now-dropped charges.
The new legislation, including changes to child welfare, is not expected to pass into law until the fall.
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