Ontario. Official Guardian Branch

• Official Guardian Branch

• Ontario. Official Guardian's Branch

• Ontario. Official Guardian

The Office of the Official Guardian was formally established within the Ontario Department of the Attorney General in 1881. In 1964, the various branches and offices of this Department were grouped into divisions and the Official Guardian's Branch was placed within the Administration of Justice Division. Although the Department of the Attorney General was renamed the Department of Justice in 1969, and then replaced with the Ministry of the Attorney General in 1972, the Official Guardian's Branch remained within the Administration of Justice Division of both of these agencies during these changes. In 1973, however, the Official Guardians Branch was transferred to the Crown Law Office where it remained until 1975; in that year it was moved to the Common Legal Services Division. In 1979, it was again transferred, this time to the Civil Law Division. The Official Guardian's Branch was renamed the Office of the Children's Lawyer in 1997 and moved to the Social Justice Services Division.

In 1979, the Official Guardian's Branch (along with the Public Trustee's Branch and the Common Legal Services Branch) was moved to the Civil Law Division, which was established in 1977 after the civil and criminal responsibilities of the Crown Law Office were divided.

The Official Guardian Branch remained in the Civil Law Division until 1997, when the Division was abolished. At this point, the Official Guardian Branch became the Office of the Children's Lawyer in the newly created Social Justice Services Division.

The Office of the Official Guardian investigated, advocated, protected and represented the personal and property rights and obligations of persons under a disability at law, usually minors, in proceedings before the courts and tribunals of Ontario.

One of the key responsibilities of the Official Guardian Branch was to protect the rights of children before the courts. The Branch did this by appointing private lawyers to represent the interests of children involved in divorce and custody cases. These lawyers had the authority to negotiate settlements and obtain judicial orders on behalf of their child clients. The legal costs were paid for by the Ontario Legal Aid Plan and the Official Guardian Branch.

Courts of Justice Act, Section 112 and 89(3)

The Rules of the Courts

Child and Family Services Act

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Inventory 4 Ministry of the Attorney General

MAG-11 schedule and ADF

Ministry of the Attorney General annual reports

Government of Ontario Telephone Directories, 1975-1997

KWIK Indexes, 1993-1997

Archivist(s):
Coulter