To the majority of the people about to read this, you will not know my name. I am not a celebrity, I am not a motivational speaker, I am not perfect. What I am is a father, just like millions around the country. The cause and effect that the family court system has on society continues to rise and our governments and lawmakers for decades have chosen to ignore this issue. This report is based on facts, public polls, and stories from the people that have been affected by the injustices of the family court system. Family law reform is critical and we cannot continue to ignore this problem as millions of children are being torn from their parents because of outdated and biased laws that go against the rights of every Canadian.
Statistics show that 38% of all marriages end in divorce in Canada. The United States is closer to the 50% range which is third highest in the world. Society has changed a lot since the 1980s; women have evolved into the workforce and deserve to be treated as equals around the world. Human rights are an essential part of keeping peace within the world, the laws and within the family home. When these rights are being broken or abused by the governments that are, by law, supposed to treat each law system equally. We as society have to step up and bring awareness to these issues.
As a family law reform activist, I have a duty as a father to care, love and protect my children with everything in my power. This power is being taken away not only from me, but from thousands of parents all over the country. The way the family court system is set up is to have a winner and a loser. There is no denying this. The losers in the end are always the children that are impacted by court decisions. Parents are being accused of sexual assault or domestic violence, with no evidence to support this and the courts are allowing a multitude of children to be kidnapped from their parents.
Parental alienation and false allegations are becoming a common theme in the family court system and the courts are the only ones that can take blame for this. One parent is being allowed to falsely accuse the other of sexual or domestic assault and ex-parte or emergency motions are being accepted by judges who only have one parties side. There have been countless cases of absolutely no evidence of these assaults, no previous charges for assaults or any child protection agencies being involved in these cases before they head to family court.
Lawyers and judges have allowed this to continue and the cause and effect that, not only has on the parents in these cases, but to the children can be devastating.
Fathers and mothers are committing suicide every day because of the way they are being labelled in the family court system. They are being labelled child molesters, rapists, abusers, deadbeats, meanwhile being falsely accused by an angry, jealous and manipulative ex.
I have repeatedly spoken about the “Silver Bullet” which is a term coined in the law profession as a tactic a parent uses, more often then not the mother, to gain immediate
custody of the children. False allegations, reports of abuse, reports of sexual assault, reports of drug use, reports of criminal activity, among many others are being used as a first step in the family court process. While many of these cases have never seen the inside of a courtroom before or any reports ever taken before. Judges are allowing parents to commit perjury, falsify documents, kidnap their children, while no repercussions are ever handed down. The family court system is ignoring our Canadian Rights and Freedoms Charter with the unfair treatment that parents receive daily at the hands of the family court system.
Recent polls conducted have shown that the major issues fathers and mothers have with the current family law system are as follows:
False allegations are not punishable. Accusers are able to commit perjury on affidavits and court documents to support their allegations but once they are proven to be false and used to mislead the court, no penalties are ever handed down to the accusers.
Child support table amounts should not be based off gross income, rather net income. With today’s ever rising cost of living and inconsistent wage increases by our government many parents cannot even provide the basic necessities to be labelled a fit parent by our court standards.
50/50 equal shared parenting should be the starting point for each case going to court. The theory of this is if the parties were equally involved in the child/children’s lives before the separation or divorce then it should continue that way in the best interests of the children. This would equalize many aspects of family law including how child support is accumulated.
Costs of marriage vs. the cost of divorce. A marriage certificate issuance costs roughly $200 CA, meanwhile a divorce certificate may cost Canadians tens of thousands of dollars. The government needs to get a handle on the atrocious fees that a lot of these courts charge for filing or even receiving a simple photocopy. With the recent changes to the way meeting with duty counsel is handled in the courts, many are finding themselves having to delay the court process simply because they cannot afford to file documents or hire a lawyer.
“Parental Alienation” needs to be recognized in our court system as psychological damage to the parties being alienated. Parents who alienate their children towards the other parent are causing severe mental trauma to their children and cause and effect on the trauma can have serious effects. These affects can range from depression, suicide, drug addiction, violence, homelessness, and many other psychological effects that happen in parentless homes. Parents who cause this alienation towards the other parent should be sent for psychological tests, required to attend support programs, or lose custody of the children.
Family law reform needs to be on the platform of every political party around the world if we want to thrive as a balanced and equal society. Until reform in our family courts happens, the problems we face will continue to rise, children will continue to suffer at the hands of the family courts and we will see a drastic increase in many issues that are the cause and effect of this system.
The only way we can thrive is to make family law reform a priority in Canada. We as Canadians are known for our family values and heritage yet the courts refuse to listen while so many of our children suffer daily. Our politicians refuse to listen. Instead they are in a battle for leadership of who is the most popular. It’s not even about who can do the best for our country, who can do the best for our kids’ future. We need to smarten up and listen to the voices that are telling us we have to change. The world is depending on us as Canadians to lead this cause for family law reform. Lead by example and lead our kids to a better future.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Massia
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