In Part 1, I applauded the positive measures in this new government initiative - Bill C-78. Unfortunately, there are a number of serious defecits in this proposed reform of child custody legislation. I believe that there are tenable solutions available to signficantly improve Bill C-78.
CHILD CUSTODY REFORM - BILL C-78 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DIVORCE REFORM
Good Tune-up, But Still Driving With Square Wheels
Child Custody law needs reform! The Family Rights Movement in Canada has long been advocating for real change in our broken child custody system. In 2014, Bill C-560 was voted down at 2nd Reading in Parliament, even though the then ruling Conservative Party officially supported Equal Shared Parenting. Now, the majority Liberal Government has introduced Bill C-78. It is an admirable "first move". It is not enough.
MEN'S SHELTER - GET ON BOARD!
A Family Shelter for abused men and children is to be established in the Toronto area but it needs your help and support. Such a shelter is an all important social service, hitherto lacking in Canada. Read more about the shelter here: Family Shelter for Abused Men and Children. Without a doubt there are indeed male victims of Intimate Partner Violence (Domestic Violence). They have been a very underserviced population but they need our help just as much as female victims of IPV - DV. It has taken a visionary organization such as the Canadian Centre for Men and Children to undertake the preparatory work in an exemplary fashion. Please consider helping out.
EQUAL SHARED PARENTING - CHILD CUSTODY INTERIM MOTION
Equal Shared Parenting within child custody law is very much a thriving concept in Ontario. Superior Court Justice W.D. Newton has penned what I believe to be a very important decision: Balke v. O'Connor. Although it was decided on 24 April 2017, remarkably the case has received no further mention other than a brief summary in "Epstein's This Week in Family Law", 2017, Issue #35 (4 September 2017). The decision deserves to have a much wider swath and this blog post is a step in that direction.
GRANDPARENTS, GRANDCHILDREN, CHILD CUSTODY, ACCESS, VISITATION
Advocates Daily dot com has highlighted my contemplation of the grandparent/grandchild access conundrum. I hope that these articles will provide much needed inspiration for all of us to seriously consider the harm that is done to grandchildren. It's not just a simple matter of judges stepping in. We need a profound change in societal attitudes, a "sea change" or "sea shift" if you will. These cases need to be resolved by all of us - and that should ideally be outside of court where at all possible.
CHILD CUSTODY LAWS NEED SEA SHIFT SOCIAL POLICY CHANGES
Social policy drives drives child custody laws. . Until now, common "wisdom" has told us that kids are generally better off with one parent primarily; usually that has translated into maternal sole custody.
How to Reduce Conflict in Parenting Time Access Exchanges
Preparing the Child for the Parenting Time Access Exchange:
EQUAL SHARED PARENTING - THE WINDS OF CHANGE
Disputes over child custody and access tend to consume inordinate amounts of court time, parents' scarce financial resources and these disputes cause parents and children untold harm on many levels. Such organizations as the Canadian Equal Parenting Council, Lawyers for Shared Parenting, and Leading Women for Shared Parenting amongst others, were in the forefront of the Canadian 2013-2014 campaign in support of a private member's Bill (C-560) that would have legislated a rebuttable presumption in favour equal shared parenting.
Disappearing Dads - A Report from the Canadian Association for Equality Panel Discussion 26 November 2015
Due to the tremendous force of gender role expectations, it has been a struggle for divorced men to bring their personal struggles into the public sphere. On a chilly November evening, I headed downtown to attend a lecture on "Disappearing Dad's", hosted by the Canadian Association for Equality. The event was heavily protested. The irony of the backlash at this lecture was that we were joining together to discuss an issue that affects men and women alike.
PARENTAL ALIENATION - ALIENATED CHILD (NOW AN ADULT) RESPONDS
I recently received some important feedback concerning a parental alienation case. The email was from the alienated child (now an adult). His point is that things are not always what they seem to be when we look only at a reported case decision. My response is that as adults we must be so very careful to never engage in behaviours that will damage a child. Here is our exchange (indentifying details have been redacted):
