Family Law is FLAWED in Ontario

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Hon Christopher Bentley
Ministry of the Attorney General
11^th Floor, 720 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2K1 Via Fax 416-326-4007

Dear Sir:

Re: Murphy vs. Murphy Court File 380/06 – Trial Date Assignment Court session May 12/09

The Trial Assignment Coordinator in the Algoma Court House was on sick leave for a very long time and the trial date was not set earlier in the spring due to no competent back up being placed in this position. On May 12, 2009 a special session was set with a Supervisor from Sudbury, ON coordinating but because of her uncertainty she also had Justice Ian McMillan involved. McMillan instructed the Sudbury employee to have a visiting judge manage the trial due to my perception of bias in the Algoma Family Court against fathers. I was removed as being the stay-at-home parent of two children without any proof of wrong doing and a woman who made a run to the local DV shelter based on false allegations of abuse and parentally alienating the two children against me. This is a common tactic in custody disputes and bought hook, line and sinker by feminist trained judges across Canada with some notable exceptions.

The tentative date for the trial was to be the weeks of August 24 and 31^st. The employee was to confirm this by phone within the week. It has not occurred and I do not know what is going on. I have not been able to identify to witnesses the dates they will attend. I find these administrative flaws in the Ontario Justice System to be quite prevalent based on my canvassing of other litigants.

Today, a demonstration is occurring within your community of London, ON to give voice to the lack of knowledge of Ontario court workers with respect to the recording of court sessions. You may read about it in the paper. This is but one of the many areas where justice is not being served. Even Gail Laws, Policy Advisor in the Court Services Division of your department did not know the correct answer and she can be heard here with an incorrect follow-up http://notalldadsaredeadbeats.com/index.php/campaigns/recorder-investigation

The fact that the management of justice and the information associated with basic services like trial management falls apart because of one person being sick is just a little incredulous but unfortunately, not surprising, in that I have found men, particularly fathers are treated with disdain and marginalized by the family court system you manage. Custody is given to the mom in a 9-1 ratio. For those of us who deem we are competent, experienced and loving care givers to our children and in my case have a 10 year track record to prove it, your system forces us to go to a trial in an expensive, adversarial high pressure winner take all showdown. That is nothing short of gender apartheid. The sooner laws are changed to a presumption of equal/shared parenting with co-residency the better. Bill C-422 is now before parliament and hopefully it will be brought into law. As well we read about corruption in the Crown's offices and police services of Barrie, Windsor, and Thunder Bay in addition to the O.P.P. to do with jury list abuses.

Moreover, in a previous trial management session with Justice Koke, in December of 2008, I submitted documents to him which he accepted and so advised the lawyer for the respondent who was in attendance. These documents mysteriously disappeared. When I queried the registrar not only would she not make any effort to locate them she arbitrarily changed the tab numbers in the table of contents. Coincidently this was the previous Trial Coordinator who was moved out of the position but not called in to help when her colleague was off sick. What is going on with this court house?

I would ask you to ensure someone from this court house contacts me in writing at the above address forthwith to confirm the dates of the trial and the time of starting in the AM of the first day. A verbal update at the above number would be a good first step. If a judge has been assigned the name of the judge. Secondly, an investigation is required as to what Justice Koke did with the documents given to him at our session in December, 2008.

Yours truly

Michael J. Murphy

cc Court Supervisor, Algoma Family Court

Who’s That With Baby at the Y? Why, It’s Daddy

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July 8, 2009, 7:30 am

By Jennifer 8. Lee

Photographs by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Clockwise from top left: At a “Baby Boogie” class at the Prospect Park Y.M.C.A., Griffin Richardson holds his son, August, 6 months, during a parachute exercise; Randall Eliot, seen from behind, watches his son, Ike, 11 months; Bryson Nobles kisses his daughter, Adriana, 7 months; and Jeremy Harris tries to hold his daughter, Sophia, 8 months.

The classes were originally called “Mommy and Baby.” Then men started showing up one by one, infants in tow. A few months ago, the fathers had become so numerous that the Prospect Park Y.M.C.A. on Ninth Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, changed the class name to “Parent and Baby.”

Even at the end of last year, the adults at the “Baby Boogie” class were almost exclusively mothers, and when a lone father showed up every now and then, he would become so uncomfortable that he disappeared quickly, recalled Sandy Phillips, director of family programs who also teaches the class. Now the men have reached critical mass.

“I used to think every child looked like their mom because I used to just see mom,” Ms. Phillips said. Now she estimates that one in three adults in the class is a man. On Tuesday, 6 of the 22 parents bouncing babies in their laps were men — sharing tips on constipation, discussing the joys of babies’ sleeping through a five-hour car trip.

One of them, Randall Eliot, father of Ike, 11 months, remembers being one of only two fathers in the class when he started several months ago. “The first week I was definitely glad to see another dad here,” he said. “Ever since then it’s been steadily increasing.”

The change appears to be the result of several factors: the economic downturn, a generational attitude shift concerning fathering, and a neighborhood where many residents have jobs with flexible schedules, some of which allow work from home.

The recession comes into play several ways. Some fathers are unemployed after being laid off. Other families are staggering their schedules to avoid the expense of child care. The recession has hit men harder than women, and if it proves to be deep and prolonged, it may lead to some adjustment of gender roles.

Mark Yarish was laid off from his banking job late last year, and he became one of the first men in the “Baby Boogie” class with his daughter, Abbie, who is now 10 months old. “He was a trailblazer,” said his wife, Margie Yarish, who has taken over from her husband now that he has started training to be a schoolteacher.

The larger participation of men at the Prospect Park Y.M.C.A. may be largely a quirk of the kind of families the neighborhood has attracted, since other Y.M.C.A.’s in the New York City area do not report so dramatic an effect. But programs in other cities, like Chicago, have seen a growing “Daddy and me” phenomenon in the last several months.

Mr. Eliot, who works in a restaurant, and his wife, who is a nurse, have staggered their schedules so that they take turns with Ike. Tuesday is his day. “We’re trying to avoid day care for the first year at least, and we’ve been pretty lucky,” he said.

Griffin Richardson, 34, who works as a sound mixer for “30 Rock” on NBC, is taking the summer off to take care of August, his 6-month-old son. His wife is a costume designer who is now working on a number of projects. “Our thing was that whoever got the better job offer would take it,” he said.

“I think I’m very lucky that I can voluntarily take time off from work,” he said. “If I had a straight-up suit-and-tie job, I wouldn’t have the flexibility.” He said he planned to be involved with his son’s upbringing on a day-to-day basis. “I’m the primary baby man,” he said. When he was growing up, he recalls, it was different: “Dads got weekends and sports.”

Bryson Nobles, 29, also said he planned to be more involved with raising his children. “Personally, I know I’ve always wanted to be at home with my child,” he said. He used to work in banking but now works from home, while his wife, a lighting designer, has the more demanding schedule. “I’ve worked to put some systems in place to make it happen.”

Fathers’ concerns vary, Ms. Phillips said. Some worry that since they aren’t breastfeeding, they may not “be bonding as much” with the baby, she said.

The presence of the fathers has changed the class conversation, too, she said. There is less discussion of post-birth discomfort, and the mothers watch what they say about breastfeeding, since words like “nipple” make the men blush, she said.

M25 Batman on Day 21 of hunger strike in prison

Contact: Kris Titus Phone: 1-888-345-2262 ext.703 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 9, 2009

For Immediate Release July 9, 2009 Starved for Justice M25 Batman on Day 21 of hunger strike in prison The Global Battle for equal rights. F4J Fathers 4 Justice activist, Geoff Hibbert, has literally put his life and his freedom on the line to raise awareness of discriminate family courts. Geoff Hibbert, aka M25 Batman, will face sentencing on July 16th. Geoff has been held in custody pending his sentencing and is now on the 21st day of a hunger strike after being convicted by a Jury after police halted traffic on the M25 highway for many hours, he faces the possibility of a 7 year sentence. "People in family court are literally starved for justice. People who have never gone through the family courts have a hard time believing they are unequal and unjust, but that's exactly what they are!" laments Kris Titus, National Coordinator, F4J Fathers 4 Justice Canada, who also faces trial for non-violent direct action in Canada. Don Tenn, National Coordinator of F4J US says, "The US branch of F4J supports Geoff in his efforts! Of course we also want Geoff to know that he is not alone, we are thinking of him and wish to say, "Thank You" for his sacrifice for OUR children." Mr. Tenn also awaits trial for non-violent direct actions stemming from an 80 hour stay atop a tower crane in Ohio. Both organizations hope that Mr. Hibbert's incredible sacrifice will not go unnoticed and be for naught. It is when people decide to take to the air that these issues get noticed. It's a really sad state of affairs when regular moms and dads have to go to extremes like these to be heard on an issue affecting millions of parents and children worldwide. F4J Canada has set up a superhero write-in campaign to support heros like Geoff in prison or facing trials. "We just pray he lives long enough to see the positive affects of his action. Geoff's 21 day hunger strike has affected F4J members worldwide. He is a testament to the endless lengths a father will go to love his children. We honor him, as it should be," ends Titus. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTACT: Canada National Coordinator, Kris Titus 1-888-345-2262 ext. 703 US National Coordinator, Don Tenn 614.448.3276 National Website for more information about F4J Fathers 4 Justice Canada Canada: www.f4jcanada.ca National Action website: www.f4jcanada.com National Website for information about F4J US: www.f4j.us

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