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As an Albertan, I was brought up
to believe in equality of men and
women. So I was appalled to learn
that the government of my home
province has created a website that
publicizes the pictures of dads who
have missed spousal payments six
months or more. They are made to
look like criminals.
They are not. Family courts across
Canada, instead of helping families
stay together, are openly biased
against men. They act on perjured
evidence, refuse to allow cross-exam-
ination, make orders against men
who are not present or order unreal-
istic payments that violate the prin-
ciples of justice and equality.
The courts don't care about whether
the woman is responsible for the
breakup or whether she is a wife or
a live-in or whether she cleaned out
the bank account before demanding
support
The result is destruction of families.
Some men resort to suicide. Some
disappear or are in and out of the
legal system constantly. Many men
lose their children and many
children lose their fathers forever.
We can do better. Governments
should use these funds for qualified
advisors to identify the problems
and help work out better solutions.
The family courts have failed completely
Marguerite Ritchie is president of the
Human Rights Institute of Canada.
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