Ontario Deserves a Public Inquiry into Child Welfare Abuse

To: The Premier of Ontario, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

For generations, children have been placed in Ontario’s child welfare system with the expectation that they would be protected, supported, and given opportunities to thrive.

Yet former children and youth in care have come forward with accounts of physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological mistreatment, excessive restraints, institutional neglect, and repeated failures to protect them from harm.

These allegations raise serious questions about the institutions responsible for their care, the effectiveness of government oversight, and whether sufficient accountability has existed when children have been harmed.

Ontario must confront these questions through an independent, province-wide public inquiry.

Why a public inquiry is necessary

Children placed in foster homes, group homes, residential treatment facilities, and other child welfare placements are among the most vulnerable members of society.

Many depend entirely on the adults and institutions responsible for their care. They may have limited opportunities to report mistreatment, challenge institutional decisions, or obtain independent assistance.

For some survivors, the consequences of childhood experiences in care extend far into adulthood, affecting mental health, education, employment, relationships, financial security, and their sense of personal safety.

While individual complaints, civil lawsuits, and institutional investigations can address particular incidents, they do not necessarily provide a comprehensive examination of historical and systemic failures across Ontario’s child welfare system.

An independent public inquiry would create an opportunity to examine these concerns on a province-wide scale.

What we are asking the Ontario government to do

We, the undersigned, call upon the Government of Ontario to establish an independent public inquiry under the Public Inquiries Act, 2009, to investigate historical and ongoing allegations of abuse, neglect, and systemic institutional failures within Ontario’s child welfare system.

The inquiry should examine practices dating back to at least the 1960s, without excluding earlier historical evidence where relevant, and continue through to the present day.

We call for an inquiry that will:

Investigate historical and ongoing allegations of abuse: Examine allegations of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, neglect, inappropriate restraints, seclusion, and other harmful institutional practices.

Examine institutional and government accountability: Review the actions and oversight of Children’s Aid Societies, residential facilities, foster care providers, contracted service organizations, and relevant provincial authorities.

Hear directly from survivors: Establish accessible, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive processes for former children and youth in care to provide testimony, including confidential participation where appropriate.

Examine historical records and institutional practices: Review relevant records, policies, complaints, investigations, and oversight mechanisms to identify patterns of alleged institutional failure.

Investigate long-term consequences: Consider the lasting effects of experiences in care on survivors’ physical and psychological health, education, employment, housing, relationships, and quality of life.

Examine the experiences of disproportionately affected communities: Include the experiences of Indigenous, Black, racialized, LGBTQ+ and disabled children and youth, while respecting the distinct histories, rights, and experiences of these communities.

Consider survivor reparations and support: Examine whether financial redress, expanded mental health services, access to historical records, and other restorative measures are warranted.

Recommend meaningful reforms: Produce publicly available findings and recommendations concerning child protection legislation, independent oversight, institutional accountability, survivor support, and prevention of future harm.

Survivors deserve to be heard

A public inquiry is not about presuming that every allegation has been proven or that every child welfare worker or institution has failed.

It is about establishing the facts through an independent process, examining patterns that may have persisted across decades, and identifying what must change to protect children.

The passage of time should not prevent historical experiences from being examined.

People who spent their childhoods in care deserve an opportunity to have their experiences considered, their concerns investigated, and the long-term consequences of institutional practices acknowledged.

Our call to action

We urge the Premier of Ontario and the Government of Ontario to commit to establishing an independent, province-wide public inquiry into Ontario’s child welfare system.

We ask that survivors and former youth in care be meaningfully consulted in developing the inquiry’s terms of reference and participation procedures.

Children placed in the care of the state deserve protection. Survivors deserve to be heard. The public deserves answers.

Sign this petition to support the establishment of an independent public inquiry into historical and ongoing child welfare abuse in Ontario.