TORONTO – New Canadian divorce law changes the way family court judges adjudicate parental disputes – some legal experts say Ontario case shows pressure to involve both parents in child rearing may leave other considerations behind.
This struggle is on display in an Ottawa courtroom, where an order from a Superior Court judge can illustrate the dangers of prioritizing the involvement of both parents in a child’s education over many other issues, even potential security issues.
“Parental investment from both parents is very good for the children,†said Rebecca Bromwich, adjunct professor in the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University.
“When we put the best interests of the children first, sometimes what is left out and where there is a fundamental tension is where there has been violence or there has been an allegation of violence between children. spouses, â€she said.
A judgment by Judge Julie Audet explains the situation of a Canadian model and a Russian businessman described in the decision as having “unlimited financial resources”.
They met in New York City and lived in various places around the world, most recently settling in Dubai with their two-year-old daughter.
According to the court ruling, in December 2020, the mother alleged “that the father was abusive towards her, including financially and emotionally, and that the day she left Dubai with the child, the father brutally beat her. , dragging her along a dirt road in a remote seaside resort… â€
The father denied this and alleged that it was the mother “… who was physically violent that night, and that the mother assaulted her adult daughter while she was intoxicated”.
The mother fled with the child to Ontario. The father tried to come here to visit his child, but was refused a visa, according to the judgment.
The justice decided that if the father could not come to Canada, it would give him the necessary time in person with his daughter in another way: it ordered them to go together for four weeks at the Six Senses complex in Turkey.
The father had originally requested that the visit last 3 months at this complex, where the family had previously stayed.
She ordered that the mother could take another member of her family to the resort, that their travel documents would be secured, and that the father would post a $ 200,000 deposit, among other conditions, as assurance that the child would not be. not wrongly held in Turkey, or kidnapped in Dubai – concerns that had been raised by the mother.
The judge indicates that “with very strict guarantees to ensure that the father complies with this court order, the alleged risks of kidnapping are sufficiently mitigated to give me confidence that [the child] will be returned safely to Canada at the end of her stay in Turkey. ”
The judge also noted in the judgment that Turkey is a signatory to the Hague Child Abduction Convention, while the UAE is not.
Gemma Broderick of the Durham Rape Crisis Center said no woman should be forced to spend time with an alleged abuser.
“I think we have to believe the survivors,†Broderick said.
The father’s lawyer told CTV News his client will follow the court order and the mother and daughter will be returned to Canada safely.
The mother’s family say they are seeking help to appeal, with a deadline of Monday.
Denise Whitehead of the University of Waterloo said that while the case involves travel, international borders and a lot of money, it reflects the issues judges face in many family law cases.
She said the new divorce law, which came into effect this year, was designed to put child welfare first and aims to minimize costly legal battles in bitter internal disputes.
“The best interests of the children must always be central. But it’s not always easy, â€Whitehead said.
