“I felt I was Canadian, but, in reality, I wasn’t.”

Kiwayne Jones was 21, when, after having spent about a decade moving around foster homes as a Crown ward, he was given some of his documentation by the Children’s Aid Society. Among the papers was a nearly-expired permanent residency card and a Jamaican birth certificate no longer considered valid in that country.

Despite having lived here since he arrived with his parents at age 10, Jones was not a Canadian citizen.

And he still isn’t today.

He’s now the representative plaintiff of a proposed $200-million class-action lawsuit brought against the Ontario government by individuals, who, as non-citizen children, were taken into the care of CAS and made Crown wards.

The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that the government failed in its duties “to take all reasonable steps to maintain permanent residency status and pursue and obtain Canadian citizenship for the non-citizen Crown wards in its care,” according to a statement of claim filed in Superior Court.

Genevieve Oger, spokesperson for the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, said the ministry “is committed to supporting the highest quality services for children and youth who are in need of protection.

“We are committed to protecting the best interests of Crown wards. The Government of Ontario is currently reviewing the claim, but, as this matter is subject to litigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” she said.

Jones, now 29, was born in Jamaica and became a permanent resident of Canada in 1999, having arrived here with his parents. Within less than a year after their arrival, Jones was apprehended by the Toronto CAS and he was made a permanent Crown ward in 2000, according to the statement of claim.

“I kind of felt disowned. I felt confused. I couldn’t understand what happened,” Jones said in an interview with the Star, talking about the confusion over his status in Canada after he was no longer a Crown ward.

“When you’re in your teenage years, you’re trying to just be comfortable in your skin, and here I was now at 21 and just not knowing what my status is. I was disappointed.

“In theory, being a Crown ward, the likelihood of me returning to my parents is less than one per cent, so the Crown has decided they’re going to be my parents, and all the circumstances around that would mean I’m adopted as a Canadian, but that’s not the reality of it.”

None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been proven in court; it hasn’t yet been certified by a judge as a class-action.

The proposed class members would include anyone who became a Crown ward in Ontario after Jan. 1, 1966, and who was not a Canadian citizen when he or she ceased to be a Crown ward.

It’s unclear at this point just how many people could qualify to be class members.

“The government is the legal parent of the children that it takes into its permanent care. This action asserts that the government has the parental duty to take steps to secure the immigration status, permanent residency, and Canadian citizenship of its Crown wards. Where that legal duty is ignored, the impact is obviously very significant, both for the individual and for society as a whole,” said one of Jones’ lawyers, Julie Kirkpatrick.

The proposed class-action comes as a 24-year-old Nova Scotia man who arrived in Canada as a Somali child refugee, and who never received Canadian citizenship while in foster care, fights to remain in the country.

The case of Abdoul Abdi , who faces a deportation hearing after serving five years in prison for offences including aggravated assault, has sparked protests across the country, and drawn attention to the issue of provincial governments failing to put the children in their care on the path to citizenship.

Abdi was moved 31 times between foster homes. He lost his native language and developed behavioural problems that advocates say were not adequately treated. Those issues led to problems with the justice system and his non-citizenship put him at risk of deportation.

The Immigration and Refugee Board will decide on March 21 if the deportation hearing should proceed; Abdi’s lawyer has argued it should be put on hold pending the outcome of a judicial review of the case, which will be heard May 29 in Federal Court.

“In a way, (Abdi) is an extreme example of what happens when children’s aid societies don’t fulfil their responsibilities,” said Nova Scotia-based lawyer Mike Dull, who is co-counsel on the Ontario class-action.

“And so Kiwayne’s story is similar to what happened here in Nova Scotia, but to, perhaps, a less pronounced degree. I think what we’ve learned in preparing this class-action is that the issues and affairs of children’s aid societies in Ontario aren’t unique in Ontario.”

Jones said he now has all of his documentation and is ready to apply to become a citizen. He hopes the lawsuit will lead to action and concrete policies on ensuring children’s aid societies stay on top of the immigration status of the children in their care.

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After he ceased being a Crown ward, Jones pursued post-secondary education, studying construction and engineering. He now works as a project co-ordinator in Toronto, and wants to pursue his dream of building community centres.

“I felt I should dedicate a path of my life, working with CAS and the government, to ensure that these facilities exist,” he said. “I want to consider myself a success story.”

With files from The Canadian Press