Ford says wider scope may be needed in Ontarios child welfare reform [Video]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is willing to take a “wider” view of child welfare in the province to ensure the tragic death of a four-year-old child found in a Toronto dumpster is not repeated.

In May 2022, the body of a small girl was found in Toronto’s Rosedale neighbourhood, with investigators suggesting she could have died the previous summer.

Extensive reporting by the Toronto Star found the girl was on the radar of — and had been cared for by — both the Toronto Children’s Aid Society and its York Region counterpart. Shortly after her child welfare file was closed, she died.

“It’s an absolute tragedy — just think of this poor little girl, four years old,” Ford said on Wednesday. “I believe the system failed her and you never let that happen again.”

The premier’s comments come as data from his government, recently obtained by Global News, shows that a child involved with Ontario’s care system dies every three days on …