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Support for Bill M483 Equal Parenting Rights

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  • #16
    I've forwarded this to my MP

    but considering he's a nitwit (Pierre Poilievre) I don't hold out hope. He's more "pro-traditional-family" so I'm not sure how it will pan out, but we'll see.

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    • #17
      I received a letter from my own MP which basically indicates they won't take a stance until the matter is debated. I have a difficult time understanding this stance as to me its a sell out from dealing with the issue and a typical politician tactic.

      Time to write another letter!

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      • #18
        My MP's office told me that since my MP (Gordon O'Connor) is also a Cabinet Minister he cannot support private members' bills. But I seem to recall there being 17 or so supporters of the bill (this would have been earlier this year), and I think that was enough to have it go to the next level. Could be wrong...

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        • #19
          My MP, Jim Prentice, replied stating "Should this matter come to a vote in the House of Commons, I will endeavor to follow the views of constituents like you. " He went on to say he recognizes this subject as a truly important one.

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          • #20
            Barbara Kay - National Post article with respect to Bill M483 and F4J

            A good friend of mine was kind enough to share this recent newspaper article with respect to Bill M483 and the F4J movement.



            A Voice For Divorced Dads

            Canada felt the pain of gays denied a gold ring, yet remains oblivious to fathers denied their own flesh and blood

            Barbara Kay, National Post

            Published: Wednesday, September 03, 2008

            http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/...3afa910fa4&p=1

            If you live in the Chatham, Ont., region, be warned that today you may happen upon a purple Barney Mobile full of scary characters like Batman, The Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman.

            Kidding. The Barney Mobile characters aren't the least bit scary. They're just ordinary dads and moms from the Fathers 4 Justice movement (F4J), presently touring Canada in support of MP Maurice Vellacott's private member's motion (PMM 483) that seeks to enshrine the principle of equal parenting (absent extraordinary circumstances) as the default legal option in the event of divorce.

            Spider-Man on a roof, The Incredible Hulk atop a construction crane, Batman and Robin scaling a bridge: The F4J objective is to attract maximum publicity with an ironic touch and minimal public inconvenience. F4J has staged over a hundred superhero "protests," none of which have caused physical harm to people or property.

            Walter Fox is the go-to Toronto criminal lawyer for F4J dads in legal trouble. He is presently defending several activists on charges laid after two non-violent August superhero actions. "Toronto's version of a terrorist is a middle-aged man in a Batman outfit," Fox scoffs, referring to Toronto's disproportionate reaction -- Emergency Task Force swarmings, streets being cordoned off, jailings and association bans -- a stark contrast to the bemused, non-confrontational reactions to F4J stunts by security forces in other Canadian cities such as Regina, Vancouver and St John.

            York University sociology professor Rob Kenedy -- Canada's only academic with expertise in the fathers' rights movement --has interviewed 200 activists in the field for a book he is writing on the subject of equal parenting. He deplores Toronto's spirit-breaking, "villainizing" tactics.

            F4J's instantly recognizable comic-book icons were chosen, Kenedy adds, precisely because they remind the world that Superman and Spider-Man are fictional guardians of society's most vulnerable. The symbolism is apt because in real life loving fathers are superheroes to their children.

            The Barney Mobile tour, which ends in Ottawa on Oct. 7, promotes a simple message: Fathers have the natural and moral right to love and be loved by their children. As credible studies show, that can only happen by spending equal, or near-equal, time with them.

            In our outmoded adversarial family-law system, women win sole custody in over 85% of contested cases. To believe this is a fair outcome that truly addresses "the best interests of the child" (once a worthy ideal, but over the years hollowed out into a meaningless mantra, cynically deployed to defend mothers' entitlements), you would also have to believe that mothers are more valuable to children than fathers, or that fathers are inherently inferior at parenting, or that women are morally superior to men.

            As it happens, many ideologues do profess and promote all these beliefs. Because these ideologues are overrepresented in the legal and academic communities from which policy advisors are disproportionately drawn -- and because they are politically aggressive -- they have successfully chilled rational public discourse that would inevitably lead to long overdue reform.

            Polls indicate that 80% of Canadians approve of equal parenting. Study after study points to the deleterious social effects on children in households where the father is mostly or completely absent.

            Our family court system is "a national shame," according to University of British Columbia sociology professor Edward Kruk, Canada's foremost authority on custody and its outcomes. "It is a form of child abuse," Kruk says, "to have a fit and loving parent forcefully removed by a court in the absence of any child protection concerns."

            After children's infancy, men can parent as capably and responsibly as women. Almost three million North American men are raising children solo, and the sun still rises in the east. In a growing number of U. S. states, such as Maine and Iowa, equal parenting is now the rule. In Australia, a country not unlike Canada in demography and socioeconomic indicators, the law stipulates that joint custody will prevail if parents can't agree to custody arrangements.

            Why, then, does socially enlightened Canada have one of the highest father-removal rates in the world? Why were we so ahead of the curve in feeling the pain of homosexual lovers denied a band of gold, but remain so far behind the curve in feeling the pain of heterosexual fathers denied their own flesh and blood?

            Politicians of all parties must get on board the Barney Mobile and lend their support to PMM 483. The time for custody justice is now.

            bkay@videotron.ca




            lv
            Last edited by logicalvelocity; 09-04-2008, 11:00 PM.

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            • #21
              NDP Federal Leader - Jack Layton's stance with respect to Bill 483

              A very good friend of mine was kind enough to forward:


              Equal parenting - reply

              Friday, August 22, 2008 8:45 PM
              From:
              "Layton, Jack - M.P." <Layton.J@parl.gc.ca>
              View contact details
              To:
              "Layton, Jack - M.P." <Layton.J@parl.gc.ca>

              Thank you for your email in support of equal parenting and motion M-483.
              We recognize that any separation or divorce is difficult and emotionally charged issues and where children are involved they pose even greater challenges. We are committed to ensuring that any legislative initiatives are in the best interests of our children.

              At this time we do not have a formal policy on the issue of equal parenting. In the absence of a formal policy on a specific legislative issue, we are guided by broader party policy and our critic’s recommendation on the proposed legislation and then the issue is discussed and debated by Caucus.

              As Parliament is not presently sitting, the federal Caucus has yet to meet to discuss motion M-483.

              Several members of our Caucus have, however, met with representatives from the Canadian Equal Parenting Coalition, including our Justice critic, Joe Comartin, who has expressed his willingness to fully consider the Coalitions concerns when he presents his recommendation to Caucus when Parliament resumes in September.

              We appreciate you raising this issue with us and for allowing us the opportunity to respond. All the best.

              Sincerely,

              Office of Jack Layton

              NDP Leader
              A typical side step if I ever saw one! Its not like the issue is complicated. Either your for or your against. I have to think the Honourable Mr. Jack Layton is more concerned about getting re-elected in the pending forthcoming election rather than take a stance on this important issue now.

              lv

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              • #22
                Yikes,
                Same C&P response as to LegalVelocity's post to another in this subforun. The FNs are screaming.

                FN

                Comment


                • #23
                  I'm behind a day or so...but nonetheless -- Update

                  Vellacott recognizes Parental Alienation Awareness Day

                  April 25, 2009

                  OTTAWA - "Parental Alienation is a serious problem in Canada because too many children do not benefit from the active involvement of both parents in their lives," said Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon-Wanuskewin), speaking in recognition of Parental Alienation Awareness Day.

                  April 25th is Parental Alienation Awareness Day and much more awareness needs to take place around the impact of parental alienation today.

                  Canada's high levels of divorce and non-traditional family arrangements often result in situations where children are no longer able to benefit from the consistent nurture and guidance and love of one of their parents. In most cases, though not all, it is the father who is missing from the home. Canada's family law system often makes matters worse, which is why I have been working on a Private Member's Bill that would require Equal Shared Parenting to be treated as the presumptive approach for resolving custodial arrangements among divorcing parents.

                  A new study has been released by Prof. Edward Kruk of the University of British Columbia using Canadian data. His research confirms conclusions that have already been well-established from much research around the world. Kruks' report notes that 90 percent of runaways grew up in father-absent homes, as did 71% of dropouts and a majority of those identified as depressed, suicidal, addicted and pregnant teens. "Barring cases of abuse and neglect, the best interests of the child include the active involvement of both parents in their nurture and upbringing," said Vellacott.

                  A very important symposium on Parental Alienation took place in Toronto in March. I commend all those involved in organizing this successful and important event.

                  One of the many speakers at the symposium was Dr. Terence Campbell, Ph.D., a clinical and forensic psychologist. He said that all separations must begin with the premise that joint physical custody is better than sole custody.

                  Many of the speakers at the conference were women, including Dr. Marty McKay, also an advocate of equal parenting. She expressed distress at the way many professionals contribute to Parental Alienation among children in broken homes. She listed the whole spectrum of professionals involved in divorce and custodial situations: judges, lawyers, assessors, psychologists, mediators, child welfare agencies and domestic violence agencies.

                  "I wish every success to those involved in raising awareness of the trauma of parental alienation," said Vellacott. "I hope my Private Member's Bill will move Canada in a direction that reduces parental alienation and advances our country's support for the best interests of our children."

                  - 30 -

                  For further comment, call (613) 992-1966 or (613) 297-2249

                  lv

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