Welcome to JFCY’s Legal Wiki which provides information about the legal rights of children and youth in Ontario. Click here to download this information from our Publications page. Please contact us if you have any questions or trouble finding the information that you seek. You should speak to a lawyer for legal advice since laws often change.
In Ontario, at any age, you are presumed to have the capacity to make decisions with respect to your healthcare treatment. However, this right can be taken away from you by the health practitioner if they find you “incapable” of making the decision.
A health practitioner will look at a number of things before they can find you incapable. This includes deciding whether you are able to understand:
If you are found incapable, the health practitioner cannot just go ahead and make treatment decisions for you. Decisions about treatment will be made by your substitute decision-maker. That person must be at least 16 years old (unless they are the parents of the patient).
If you are under 16, your substitute decision-maker will be your parent (or another person who is standing in the place of your parent).
If you are 16 or older, it will be one of the following (if there is no one who fits the description of #1, it will be #2, etc):
Your Attorney for Personal Care is someone you choose to make health-related decisions for you if you are later found to be incapable. You must be 16 or older and capable to make this choice.
You must do this in writing and you can choose more than one person. You should choose someone that you trust. You can also be specific about your treatment wishes; this is especially important if you want or do not want certain treatments.
You can get more information and a Power of Attorney Kit (with forms to complete) from the Ministry of the Attorney General.
You should talk to a lawyer for specific advice.
When your substitute decision-maker is making decisions about your treatment(s), they must consider any wishes that you made after you turned 16 and while you were capable. Otherwise, they must act in your best interests. The law sets out how to determine what’s in your best interests. For example, they must consider your values and beliefs.
You should talk to the people who may end up as your substitute decision-maker about your treatment beliefs and wishes in case you are later found to be incapable.
If someone decides that you are incapable, you can appeal the decision to the Consent and Capacity Board.
Talk to a lawyer to find out more information about this process.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) provides unique rights and procedures for young people between the ages of 12 - 17 who are charged with a criminal offence in Canada.
Going to school is a legal requirement for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. The Education Act gives parents and children specific rights in the publicly funded school system.
In Ontario, you can choose where you live when you are 16 years old. The decision to leave is often not easy and can lead to difficulties in getting all your belongings, having enough money to support yourself and attending school.
Become informed about your legal rights when it comes to decisions about your healthcare and mental healthcare treatment. This includes any procedure carried out or prescribed by a health practitioner to diagnose or treat a physical or mental health condition.
In Ontario, at any age, you are presumed to have the capacity to make decisions with respect to your healthcare treatment. However, this right can be taken away from you by the health practitioner if they find you “incapable” of making the decision.
A health practitioner will look at a number of things before they can find you incapable. This includes deciding whether you are able to understand:
If you are found incapable, the health practitioner cannot just go ahead and make treatment decisions for you. Decisions about treatment will be made by your substitute decision-maker. That person must be at least 16 years old (unless they are the parents of the patient).
If you are under 16, your substitute decision-maker will be your parent (or another person who is standing in the place of your parent).
If you are 16 or older, it will be one of the following (if there is no one who fits the description of #1, it will be #2, etc):
Your Attorney for Personal Care is someone you choose to make health-related decisions for you if you are later found to be incapable. You must be 16 or older and capable to make this choice.
You must do this in writing and you can choose more than one person. You should choose someone that you trust. You can also be specific about your treatment wishes; this is especially important if you want or do not want certain treatments.
You can get more information and a Power of Attorney Kit (with forms to complete) from the Ministry of the Attorney General.
You should talk to a lawyer for specific advice.
When your substitute decision-maker is making decisions about your treatment(s), they must consider any wishes that you made after you turned 16 and while you were capable. Otherwise, they must act in your best interests. The law sets out how to determine what’s in your best interests. For example, they must consider your values and beliefs.
You should talk to the people who may end up as your substitute decision-maker about your treatment beliefs and wishes in case you are later found to be incapable.
If someone decides that you are incapable, you can appeal the decision to the Consent and Capacity Board.
Talk to a lawyer to find out more information about this process.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from discrimination on many grounds and in many social areas. Specific legal concerns raised by youth identifying in LGBTQI2S communities are about GSAs, Trans and Gender Inclusive Spaces and changing their ID.
You can be given a ticket for breaking a provincial law if you are over the age of 16. Some of the common laws that young people are given tickets for is covered in this section.
In family law, the rights of children are unique. Become informed about going into and being in the care of a Children's Aid Society, when parents can assault you (corporal punishment / spanking exemption to assault), and your right to be heard when your parents are splitting up.
JFCY's Childhood Arrivals and Support & Advocacy Program (CASA) provides services to young people who arrived in Canada as children and are living in Ontario without immigration status.
Street Youth Legal Services (SYLS) is a program that provides information and services for homeless youth between the ages of 16 - 25. These are some of the common issues that the SYLS lawyer is asked about.
