“Section 94(11) of the CYFSA directs that at the interim stage of a case, the Court shall take into consideration the child’s views and wishes, given due weight in accordance with the child’s age and maturity, unless they cannot be ascertained. Section 74(3)(a) also places the child’s views and wishes front and center, in the best interests’ analysis. Moreover, the first sentence in the preamble to the CYFSA acknowledges that children “are individuals with rights to be respected and voices to be heard”.
However, the right to respect and to be heard is not tantamount to the right to decide. And despite their additional importance within the statutory scheme, a child’s views and wishes are to be “given due weight in accordance with the child’s age and maturity”.”
Durham Children’s Aid Society v. R.S and S.S, 2023 ONSC 1919 (CanLII) at 151-152