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.
Privacy
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What is Part X of the CYFSA?
The Child Youth Family Services Act (CYFSA) is an Ontario law that governs certain programs and services for children, youth, and families. The CYFSA is divided into parts and Part X sets the rules that service providers must follow to protect your privacy and controls who is able to access your personal information. This law came into effect on Jan 1, 2020.
Why is Part X important?
Prior to the enactment of Part X, the law regarding your personal information and privacy rights when you received services from organizations under the CYFSA was unclear.
Part X creates new rules that service providers must follow to protect your privacy.
What information does Part X apply to?
Part X applies to “personal information” collected to provide a service to a child or youth.
Personal information means “recorded information about an identifiable individual.” It does not apply to records that contain no personal information.
Information is about an “identifiable individual” if:
- it is about the individual in a personal capacity, and
- the individual can be identified from the information (either alone or by combining it with other information)
This includes information you may give a service provider verbally. It also doesn’t matter when the record was created; even if your information was recorded many years ago, you have a right to access your record and they must protect it against privacy breaches.
What does “collected for” or “relating to” the provision of a service mean?
For Part X to apply, the personal information must be “collected for or related to the provision of a service” that is provided or funded under the CYFSA and includes services related to:
- child protection / Children’s Aid Societies
- residential care
- community support and prevention
- physical or mental disabilities
- mental health
- adoption
- services or programs under the Youth Criminal Justice Act or Provincial Offences Act
What are my Rights under Part X?
- The right to request access and correction to your records of personal information,
- More control over how your personal information is shared among service providers, with the ability for you to provide consent based on capacity, not age,
- The right to a complaints process and an independent review mechanism related to the collection, use and sharing of personal information, and
- More transparency in how your personal information is handled by service providers.
What are the consent requirements?
If your personal information is collected to provide a service, it can only be used for that purpose or for one of the additional purposes set out in Part X or with your consent. Any other use of the information is not allowed.
When your personal information is being shared (“disclosed”), your consent is needed unless Part X permits the disclosure without your consent. Your consent must be written or verbal, but verbal consent is only valid if a written record is made.
When can information be shared without my consent?
There are some situations where your information can be shared without your consent. For example: there is a reasonable suspicion that you or another child may be in need of protection; risk of serious harm to a person or group; or under an investigation by the police.
How can I access my records?
Yes, you have a right to access your information at any age. There are some exceptions.
You have a right to all information in the service provider’s custody or control, regardless of where the information came from. The right of includes records that were not created by that service provider but was provided to them.
Service providers must respond to your access request within 30 calendar days and they are not allowed to charge fees.
What are the exceptions to my right of access?
Some exceptions include a legal privilege restricting your access; another law or a court order that prohibits it being shared with you; or the information was collected or created primarily in anticipation of or for use in a legal proceeding which has not ended.
You also do not have a right to access if giving you access could reasonably be expected to:
- result in a risk of serious harm to any individual,
- lead to the identification of an individual who was required by law to provide information in the record to the service provider, or
- lead to the identification of an individual who provided the information either explicitly or implicitly in confidence – if the service provider considers it appropriate to keep their identity confidential.
If there is some information in the record that can be shared, then they must do so. Either in part or with some parts covered up.
What if there are mistakes in my records?
You have the right to ask for corrections. Service providers must respond to your request for changes within 30 calendar days and are not permitted to charge fees.
What can I do if my records have been shared without my consent?
You can file a complaint, in writing, to the independent Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC). The IPC provides oversight of Ontario’s access and privacy laws.
Any person may file a complaint with the IPC about another person who has or is about to contravene Part X. This could include complaints about:
- refusal of an access or correction request, or failure to respond,
- privacy breaches, or
- failure to comply with any Part X requirement.
In response to complaints, or on its own initiative, the IPC may choose to conduct a review of any matter involving a possible rights violation under Part X. Where possible, the IPC promotes informal and early resolution of complaints, and often does this through mediation.
Is there a deadline to file complaints?
Yes, complaints about access and correction decisions must be filed within six months after the service provider refused the request (or failed to respond).
All other complaints must be filed within one year after the subject of the complaint first came or should have come to the complainant’s attention.
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Youth Criminal Justice
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.
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Education
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.
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Leaving Home
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.
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Health & Mental Health
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.
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Discrimination and LGBTQI2S Rights
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.
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Provincial Offences
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.
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Family: Discipline, Children's Aid Societies, Parenting and Contact Orders
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.
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Privacy
Close-
What is Part X of the CYFSA?
The Child Youth Family Services Act (CYFSA) is an Ontario law that governs certain programs and services for children, youth, and families. The CYFSA is divided into parts and Part X sets the rules that service providers must follow to protect your privacy and controls who is able to access your personal information. This law came into effect on Jan 1, 2020.
Why is Part X important?
Prior to the enactment of Part X, the law regarding your personal information and privacy rights when you received services from organizations under the CYFSA was unclear.
Part X creates new rules that service providers must follow to protect your privacy.
What information does Part X apply to?
Part X applies to “personal information” collected to provide a service to a child or youth.
Personal information means “recorded information about an identifiable individual.” It does not apply to records that contain no personal information.
Information is about an “identifiable individual” if:
- it is about the individual in a personal capacity, and
- the individual can be identified from the information (either alone or by combining it with other information)
This includes information you may give a service provider verbally. It also doesn’t matter when the record was created; even if your information was recorded many years ago, you have a right to access your record and they must protect it against privacy breaches.
What does “collected for” or “relating to” the provision of a service mean?
For Part X to apply, the personal information must be “collected for or related to the provision of a service” that is provided or funded under the CYFSA and includes services related to:
- child protection / Children’s Aid Societies
- residential care
- community support and prevention
- physical or mental disabilities
- mental health
- adoption
- services or programs under the Youth Criminal Justice Act or Provincial Offences Act
What are my Rights under Part X?
- The right to request access and correction to your records of personal information,
- More control over how your personal information is shared among service providers, with the ability for you to provide consent based on capacity, not age,
- The right to a complaints process and an independent review mechanism related to the collection, use and sharing of personal information, and
- More transparency in how your personal information is handled by service providers.
What are the consent requirements?
If your personal information is collected to provide a service, it can only be used for that purpose or for one of the additional purposes set out in Part X or with your consent. Any other use of the information is not allowed.
When your personal information is being shared (“disclosed”), your consent is needed unless Part X permits the disclosure without your consent. Your consent must be written or verbal, but verbal consent is only valid if a written record is made.
When can information be shared without my consent?
There are some situations where your information can be shared without your consent. For example: there is a reasonable suspicion that you or another child may be in need of protection; risk of serious harm to a person or group; or under an investigation by the police.
How can I access my records?
Yes, you have a right to access your information at any age. There are some exceptions.
You have a right to all information in the service provider’s custody or control, regardless of where the information came from. The right of includes records that were not created by that service provider but was provided to them.
Service providers must respond to your access request within 30 calendar days and they are not allowed to charge fees.
What are the exceptions to my right of access?
Some exceptions include a legal privilege restricting your access; another law or a court order that prohibits it being shared with you; or the information was collected or created primarily in anticipation of or for use in a legal proceeding which has not ended.
You also do not have a right to access if giving you access could reasonably be expected to:
- result in a risk of serious harm to any individual,
- lead to the identification of an individual who was required by law to provide information in the record to the service provider, or
- lead to the identification of an individual who provided the information either explicitly or implicitly in confidence – if the service provider considers it appropriate to keep their identity confidential.
If there is some information in the record that can be shared, then they must do so. Either in part or with some parts covered up.
What if there are mistakes in my records?
You have the right to ask for corrections. Service providers must respond to your request for changes within 30 calendar days and are not permitted to charge fees.
What can I do if my records have been shared without my consent?
You can file a complaint, in writing, to the independent Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC). The IPC provides oversight of Ontario’s access and privacy laws.
Any person may file a complaint with the IPC about another person who has or is about to contravene Part X. This could include complaints about:
- refusal of an access or correction request, or failure to respond,
- privacy breaches, or
- failure to comply with any Part X requirement.
In response to complaints, or on its own initiative, the IPC may choose to conduct a review of any matter involving a possible rights violation under Part X. Where possible, the IPC promotes informal and early resolution of complaints, and often does this through mediation.
Is there a deadline to file complaints?
Yes, complaints about access and correction decisions must be filed within six months after the service provider refused the request (or failed to respond).
All other complaints must be filed within one year after the subject of the complaint first came or should have come to the complainant’s attention.
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Corporal Punishment & "Spanking"
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Going into Children's Aid Society Care
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Being in Children's Aid Society Care
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Parenting and Contact Orders
Open
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Immigration & Refugee
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.
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Homeless Youth Over 18
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.