Private bill for ‘equal parenting’ goes on Parliament’s order
Has support from Laval-les Îles Liberal MP Raymonde Folco
Published July 15 , 2009
By Martin C. Barry • TLN
‘This law if passed would make it mandatory for two parents who are divorcing to discuss with either a mediator or a judge how they would divide the time with the children’ – Raymonde Folco
In the weeks preceding this past Fathers’ Day, there were so many different interpretations of who is a dad, some may have found it difficult to distinguish just what is a father these days. Oprah featured a single dad with nine children, and the National Post didn’t do much for the idea of fathers as role models when it ran an article on the importance of sperm in child development.
Divorce Act amendments
Now a small group of legislators from different sides of the House of Commons in Ottawa have gotten together in an attempt to address some of the real issues. Bill C-422, to amend the Divorce Act in favor of a presumption of equal parenting, has been tabled by Saskatchewan Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott, with the support of Laval-les Îles Liberal Raymonde Folco and Lévis-Bellechasse Conservative Steven Blaney.
At least one purpose of the proposed amendment would be to counter an overall bias many people feel currently exists in divorce and child custody law which generally favours women. “I had already met with a group that was trying to get a private member’s bill on this,” Folco said in an interview with TLN.
‘No hesitation’: Folco
“They thought I would be interested because of some of the other things I’d done in Parliament. So I said I would be very happy to second it. This is the kind of bill where I felt no hesitation at all. If he hadn’t tabled it, I would have. This law if passed would make it mandatory for two parents who are divorcing to discuss with either a mediator or a judge how they would divide the time with the children.
“Equal parenting means that 50 per cent of the time a child would be with one parent and 50 per cent with the other,” she continued. “That’s so that the two parents can come together for the good of the child. If one of the parents felt that during the week it was impossible for him or her to have the child and they would rather have him or her on the weekend, that would be something to be discussed between the two parents with a mediator. But the basic line is a 50-50 proposition, and this is to help the child grow up with the help of both parents.”
Supporters pleased
The Canadian Equal Parenting Council, a coalition of 40 member organizations and worldwide affiliates pushing for the recognition of presumptive equal parenting as being in the best interest of the child, is pleased with the proposed amendment. “We have had the real pleasure of working on this legislation with Mr. Vellacott who truly has the same interests as our coalition ― protecting the best interests of children after divorce,” said Kris Titus, co-president of the CEPC.
The CEPC says it agrees with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff’s position on the issue and has called on all parties and their leaders to stand by their commitments to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Canada in 1992, and to follow recommendations made in the For the Sake of the Children Parliamentary report of 1998.
Fathers 4 Justice
Regarding the move to shared parenting legislative changes, Ignatieff wrote in his 2002 book The Rights Revolution, “These are sensible and overdue suggestions.” Fathers 4 Justice Canada, a controversial group that has attracted a fair bit of media attention in recent years with tactics such as scaling tall structures like bridges where they hang banners, fully supports the proposed changes.
"Men in Canada need to quite literally start protecting themselves from the flawed family law system,” the group said in a statement reacting to Bill C-422. “Right now the focus is on litigation not restoration. Money talks and Dads are forced to walk away because they cannot afford to fight for their children any longer. We need to start asking why they should even have to. Dads are just not seen as important."
Source: http://www.lavalnews.ca/articles/TLN1714/parentingBill171408.html
Showing posts with label children's rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's rights. Show all posts
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Documented Account Of Parental Alienation Syndrome
Cordell & Cordell Attorney Angelyn Mitchell talks to Minister Ron Smith, author of Cheated: A Documented Account Of Parental Alienation Syndrome
Friday, May 29, 2009
Rights for Children of Divorce
by Pamela Espeland
Rights for Children of Divorce
If you are divorced or in the process of separating, you already know your kids are having a hard time. It's your responsibility to put their needs—physical and psychological—before your own. You can help your child through a divorce and their resulting reality by respecting their rights.
As a child of divorce, your child has the right to:
Be free of your conflicts and hostilities.
When you badmouth each other in front of your child, it tears them apart inside. Don't put your child in the middle or play them against the other parent. And don't burden them with your relationship problems. Those problems are yours, not theirs.
Develop a relationship with both parents.
Your child loves you both. They know you'll sometimes be jealous about that, but you need to deal with it because you're the adult.
Information about things that will affect their life.
If you're planning to divorce, your child has a right to know, just as soon as is reasonable. Likewise, if you're planning to move, get remarried or any other major life change, they have a right to know about that, too.
Be protected from bad information.
This means you shouldn't tell your child about sexual exploits or other misbehavior by the other parent. And don't apologize to them—for the other parent—because this implies a negative judgment of the other parent. If you apologize to your child, apologize for yourself.
Their own personal space in both homes.
This doesn't mean your child can't share a room with a brother or sister, but it does mean that they need you to give them some space and time of their own. Your child also needs some special personal items in his or her own space. And this might include a picture of the other parent. Don't freak out about it.
Physical safety and supervision.
You may be very upset about your divorce, but that doesn't mean you should neglect your child's needs. Your child doesn't want to be home alone all the time, while you're out dating someone new.
Spend time with both parents, without interference.
Your child's right to spend time with each of you shouldn't depend on how much money one of you has paid the other. That makes your child feel cheap, like something you might buy in a store.
Financial and emotional support from both parents, regardless of how much time your child spends with either one of you.
This doesn't mean your child expects twice as much as other kids get. It just means you should stop worrying about what they got from the other parent and focus on what you're providing.
Firm limits and boundaries and reasonable expectations.
Just because he or she is a child of divorce doesn't mean your child can't handle chores, homework or other normal responsibilities. On the other hand, keep in mind that even though there may be younger siblings (or stepsiblings), your child is not the designated baby-sitter.
Your patience.
Your children didn't choose to go through a divorce. They didn't choose to have their biological parents live in two different homes, move away, date different people and in general turn their world upside-down. More than most children's, your children's lives have been beyond their control. This means they'll need your help and support to work through any control issues.
Be a child.
Your child shouldn't have to be your spy, your special confidant or your parent. Just because you and your ex now hate to talk to each other, your child shouldn't have to be your personal message courier. Your child has a right to be more than a child of divorce. Your son or daughter has the right to be a child whose parents love them more than they've come to hate each other.
Source: http://www.parentsconnect.com/articles/rights_for_children_of_divorce.jhtml
Rights for Children of Divorce
If you are divorced or in the process of separating, you already know your kids are having a hard time. It's your responsibility to put their needs—physical and psychological—before your own. You can help your child through a divorce and their resulting reality by respecting their rights.
As a child of divorce, your child has the right to:
Be free of your conflicts and hostilities.
When you badmouth each other in front of your child, it tears them apart inside. Don't put your child in the middle or play them against the other parent. And don't burden them with your relationship problems. Those problems are yours, not theirs.
Develop a relationship with both parents.
Your child loves you both. They know you'll sometimes be jealous about that, but you need to deal with it because you're the adult.
Information about things that will affect their life.
If you're planning to divorce, your child has a right to know, just as soon as is reasonable. Likewise, if you're planning to move, get remarried or any other major life change, they have a right to know about that, too.
Be protected from bad information.
This means you shouldn't tell your child about sexual exploits or other misbehavior by the other parent. And don't apologize to them—for the other parent—because this implies a negative judgment of the other parent. If you apologize to your child, apologize for yourself.
Their own personal space in both homes.
This doesn't mean your child can't share a room with a brother or sister, but it does mean that they need you to give them some space and time of their own. Your child also needs some special personal items in his or her own space. And this might include a picture of the other parent. Don't freak out about it.
Physical safety and supervision.
You may be very upset about your divorce, but that doesn't mean you should neglect your child's needs. Your child doesn't want to be home alone all the time, while you're out dating someone new.
Spend time with both parents, without interference.
Your child's right to spend time with each of you shouldn't depend on how much money one of you has paid the other. That makes your child feel cheap, like something you might buy in a store.
Financial and emotional support from both parents, regardless of how much time your child spends with either one of you.
This doesn't mean your child expects twice as much as other kids get. It just means you should stop worrying about what they got from the other parent and focus on what you're providing.
Firm limits and boundaries and reasonable expectations.
Just because he or she is a child of divorce doesn't mean your child can't handle chores, homework or other normal responsibilities. On the other hand, keep in mind that even though there may be younger siblings (or stepsiblings), your child is not the designated baby-sitter.
Your patience.
Your children didn't choose to go through a divorce. They didn't choose to have their biological parents live in two different homes, move away, date different people and in general turn their world upside-down. More than most children's, your children's lives have been beyond their control. This means they'll need your help and support to work through any control issues.
Be a child.
Your child shouldn't have to be your spy, your special confidant or your parent. Just because you and your ex now hate to talk to each other, your child shouldn't have to be your personal message courier. Your child has a right to be more than a child of divorce. Your son or daughter has the right to be a child whose parents love them more than they've come to hate each other.
Source: http://www.parentsconnect.com/articles/rights_for_children_of_divorce.jhtml
Child Support; Best Interest for who? Child, Parent or State
From a meeting with Utah State Senator Greg Bell. Child support is often thought of money spent in the child's best interest. However, the unspoken truth is that child support is unaccounted funds given to the custodial parent and further used in a competition for federal bonus funds.
In the first half of the video, concerned citizen, Tony Curtis, questions whose interest is served by child support. Senator Bells attests that millions of dollars are tied to child support - the interest of the state. In the second half of the video a grown child of divorce testifies as to the need for more accountability.
One of the most discussed issues at the meeting was 50/50 equal parenting legislation. Senator Bell explained to attendees the difficulties with jumping immediately to a 50/50 parenting presumption from the legislative and practical points of view and was open to looking further into 50/50 equal parenting based on research and studies.
Transcript:
Audience member: The best interests of the child is what I want to talk about. When we discuss this issue of 50/50 custody what often comes up is the economic situation for mothers. That's not talking about the best interests of the child then. You've switched from the best interests of the child now to the best interests of one parent. And what I would like to say about this is we really need to separate those two issues, because if it's truly in the best interests of the child having involvement from both parents, then why are we messing with that because we're concerned about economics for one parent?
Senator Bell: Well, you make a great point and if you and I were designing a new world that's where we would start. But we're not. We're stuck with a system and I'm just saying that there's no way you're going to lop off hundreds of millions of child support overnight or for even a three year ammortization. You know what I'm saying. It's a huge economic and social shift and you know whether you and I and all the angels agree or not we're not going to get the governor and 103 other people you know to move there overnight so ah you're right. The interests of the child is not necesarily found with the child support cause the child support may or may not go to the best interest of the children.
Another audience member: Senator Bell, I am one of those children. My parents divorced in Montana. And my dad currently lives here in Utah. It was a very unfair situation and I'd like to see something on the legislature that puts parents in responsibility to that child support. I'd like to see a program like Horizontee cards for welfare that maybe we keep track of that child support so that we know it's going for the children cause it's not parental support, it's child support. And my mom took the child support and didn't use it to support me. My mom never gave me a college fund. She never made sure I had the tools to be a successful adult. I escaped from my mother from a very abusive situation at the age of 17. My dad had to continue paying child support till I was 19. And I didn't live with my mom and I had no support from her. I would like to see something on the legislature that changes to where we do keep track of child support. My dad is currently $140,000... of what it goes towards, of what it's spent on. Because the price of raising a child is not dependent on a percentage of a wage, it is a price, but shouldn't we keep track of where that money goes so it's not used for mommy when the children are gone, for her and the new husband to go away to Hawaii. That's not a very useful use of that child support... and there's parents trading there child support for drugs and all sorts of ridiculous things.
Just how much money is this hundreds of millions in child support?? According to the website of the Utah Office of Recovery Services, over $195.9 million was collected in fiscal year 2006. Of this amount over $23.4 million was distributed to the Utah Department of Health (as apposed to being distributed to recipient parents), and at least $6.3 million made it directly into the state's general fund (as apposed to being distributed to recipient parents
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Convention on the Rights of the Child
UNICEF’s mission is to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided in doing this by the provisions and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Built on varied legal systems and cultural traditions, the Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations. These basic standards—also called human rights—set minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by governments. They are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every human being everywhere. With these rights comes the obligation on both governments and individuals not to infringe on the parallel rights of others. These standards are both interdependent and indivisible; we cannot ensure some rights without—or at the expense of—other rights.
A legally binding instrument
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too.
The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services.
By agreeing to undertake the obligations of the Convention (by ratifying or acceding to it), national governments have committed themselves to protecting and ensuring children's rights and they have agreed to hold themselves accountable for this commitment before the international community. States parties to the Convention are obliged to develop and undertake all actions and policies in the light of the best interests of the child.
Photo essay:
The rights of the child - I
The rights of the child - II
Read "Convention on the Rights of the Child"
Built on varied legal systems and cultural traditions, the Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations. These basic standards—also called human rights—set minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by governments. They are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every human being everywhere. With these rights comes the obligation on both governments and individuals not to infringe on the parallel rights of others. These standards are both interdependent and indivisible; we cannot ensure some rights without—or at the expense of—other rights.
A legally binding instrument
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too.
The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services.
By agreeing to undertake the obligations of the Convention (by ratifying or acceding to it), national governments have committed themselves to protecting and ensuring children's rights and they have agreed to hold themselves accountable for this commitment before the international community. States parties to the Convention are obliged to develop and undertake all actions and policies in the light of the best interests of the child.
Photo essay:
The rights of the child - I
The rights of the child - II
Read "Convention on the Rights of the Child"
Monday, May 25, 2009
Shared Parenting Facts and Fiction by Dr. Linda Nielsen
The Case for Shared Parenting and Joint Physical Custody - It's About The Kids!
This list will be updated on a regular basis as new sources are compiled. If you have a resource that is not listed here please email us at [admin at achildsright dot net] so that we can promptly add it.
Children have a fundamental right to be loved, guided, nurtured and educated equally by both fit and willing parents - to deny this is child abuse.
Shared Parenting Facts and Fiction by Dr. Linda Nielsen Professor of Women Studies and ACFC President
Download SharedParentingFactsandFiction.pdf
This list will be updated on a regular basis as new sources are compiled. If you have a resource that is not listed here please email us at [admin at achildsright dot net] so that we can promptly add it.
Children have a fundamental right to be loved, guided, nurtured and educated equally by both fit and willing parents - to deny this is child abuse.
Shared Parenting Facts and Fiction by Dr. Linda Nielsen Professor of Women Studies and ACFC President
Download SharedParentingFactsandFiction.pdf
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