Update on Canadian Parliamentry Motion M-483 Equal Parenting

2008-06-21

Dear Mike:

I'm writing on behalf of the CEPC coalition organizations and membership to thank you for the time and effort invested in advocating for M-483 Private Members Motion (PMM).

As a result of the strong response from the Family Rights Movement and its friends, Mr. Vellacott placed "Equal Parenting" over other competing business on the Order Paper. Moreover, our concerted advocacy campaign has signed up 15 Seconders for the PMM as of this writing. Our target is the 20 maximum allowed Seconders with all-party representation in order to demonstrate that this in a non-partisan issue of importance to all Canadians.

Our work is has just begun as you well understand. Specifically, we need to campaign throughout the summer to ensure we have mustered enough MPs for a majority vote when the motion is brought up for First Reading in early autumn (barring any election call). We're asking you to meet with MPs from all parties in your surrounding ridings to promote M-483, and have attached brochures for this purpose.

MPs meet with their constituents and other interested parties in their riding offices during the summer. The constituency telephone number to make an appointment can be found here.

The key questions to put to the MP are:

• Does the MP support Equal Parenting in principle?
• Is the MP willing to second the motion? If so , {insert process here}
• If not willing to second, will MP vote in support of M-483?
• If the MP is undecided or uncertain, what additional information would he like?
• If the MP is opposed, on what grounds?

CEPC is maintaining a master MP Support list to track the vote count. At the present time we need 25 more MPs to indicate their support for M-483. Please forward the results of your meeting to one of the following:

• George Piskor gwpiskor@nospamsympatico.ca
• Martin Gibb martingibb@nospammailcity.com

We will then update our master MP tracking Spreadsheet with your results , and also endeavour to provide you with additional information requested by the MP.

United in Purpose and Spirit,

George Piskor

VP-Policy & Planning

Canadian Equal Parenting Council/ Conseil pour l'Équité Parentale du Canada

(905) 380-4310 phone  gwpiskor@nospamsympatico.ca

wgp/66

Encl: Brochures

CANADIAN EQUAL PARENTING COUNCIL (CEPC) ORGANIZATION LIST

Organization Head Office Location Contact Email Web Site

(ANCQ)Action des Nouvelles Conjointes et Nouveaux Conjoints du Québec Quebec ancq1999@videotron.ca www.ancq.qc.ca

Alex Alert Network jerrydante@yahoo.ca alexalert.webs.com

Amnesty-4-Families info@amnesty-4-families.org

CCEP (Canadian Coalition For Equal Parenting) Regina brianleejohnson@accesscomm.ca

Children's Rights Council of Canada bjenkins@axxent.ca

Commoners' Publishing Inc. Ottawa commoners@rogers.com www.commonerspublishing.com

Dads of Durham Oshawa pat.andrus@jhsdurham.on.ca

Dads_In_Action Ottawa http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dads_In_Action/

Divorce Radio Project Calgary info@divorcecalgary.com

ECMAS (Equitable Child Maintenance & Access Society) Edmonton gandjhomedad@hotmail.com www.ecmas.org

EPGS( Equal Parent Group Society) DWMillar@Rogers.com www.equalparenting-bc.ca

Equal Parening of Canada (EPOC) Ottawa cheriton@rogers.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EPOC_NEWS/

Equal Parenting of Durham Bowmanville uncledad57@gmail.com

Everyman.org Ottawa unittj@cyberus.ca everyman.org

F4J Fathers 4 Justice (Canada) New Westminister office@fathers-4-justice-canada.ca www.fathers-4-justice-canada.ca

Families 4 Justice.ca Surrey office@F4J.ca www.F4J.ca

Families For Fathers Toronto jennifer.allison@rogers.com

Family of Men Support Society Calgary earl.silverman@familyofmen.com www.familyofmen.org

FatherCraft Canada Ottawa fathercraft@rogers.com

Fathers Are Capable Too: Parenting Assoc. Toronto president@fact.on.ca www.fact.on.ca

Fathers For Justice -Quebec Montreal benoit@carbanzo.com montreal@fathers-4-justice.ca

fathers-4-justice-NWT Yellowknife bogan98@yahoo.com www.fathers-4-justice-canada.ca

Fondation Gilbert Claes Quebec gilbert.claes@oricom.ca

Glad to be a guy Montreal pageau_ceg@yahoo.ca garscontent.com

Keeping Families Connected Tigard rick@keepingfamiliesconnected.org www.keepingfamiliesconnected.org

L'Apres Rupture jeanpierre.gagnon@sympatico.ca www.lapresrupture.qc.ca/

Men's Rights, Inc. Sacramento mrinc@att.net

Nanaimo Men's Resource Centre Nanaimo theo@nanaimomen.com www.nanaimomen.com

New Brunswick Children's Equal Parenting Assoc. Saint John er_hoyt@msn.com

Ottawa Men's Centre Ottawa www.OttawaMensCentre.com

papapourtoujours,les enfants d'abord Rimouski P. papa-pour-toujours@live.ca

Parents' Coalition of British Columbia New Westminster theo@parentswhocare.ca www.parentswhocare.ca

Politically Active Dads Toronto waynecook@rogers.com

Shared Parenting Works shared.parenting.works@gmail.com http://sharedparentingworks.org/

Windsor Men's Forum Amherstberg bobmcguire971@yahoo.ca

M-483 EQUAL PARENTING MOTION

M-483 has grown to 15 Seconders as of parliamentary summer recess.

No. 22

M-483 — April 11, 2008 — Mr. Vellacott (Saskatoon—Wanuskewin) — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should propose amendments to the Divorce Act so that law and practice ensure due process protection of rights and equality of parents, and to ensure that children benefit from equal parenting from both their mother and their father, after separation or divorce.

Pursuant to Standing Order 86(3), jointly seconded by:

Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar) — May 8, 2008

Mr. Wappel (Scarborough Southwest) — May 9, 2008

Mr. Benoit (Vegreville—Wainwright) and Mr. Hiebert (South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale) — May 14, 2008

Mr. Hanger (Calgary Northeast) — May 15, 2008

Mr. Cummins (Delta—Richmond East) — May 20, 2008

Mr. Brown (Barrie) — May 21, 2008

Mr. Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville) — May 28, 2008

Mr. Van Kesteren (Chatham-Kent—Essex) — June 4, 2008

Mrs. Hinton (Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo)— June 5, 2008

Mr. Albrecht (Kitchener—Conestoga) — June 9, 2008

Ms. Folco (Laval—Les Îles) — June 10, 2008

Mr. Anderson (Cypress Hills—Grasslands) — June 11, 2008

Mr. Goldring (Edmonton East) and Mr. Shipley (Lambton—Kent—Middlesex) — June 13, 2008

Motion may not be moved, pursuant to Standing Order 91.1(1).

During the interim you have either received additional letters of support from other coalition members, or have had the opportunity to speak with them directly. It is our understanding that you personally support Equal Parenting, and we hope your support will be expressed as a Seconder to the motion. House of Commons procedures require you to submit a signed letter to the Journals Branch at 140 North, Centre Block, which simply says: "Please put my name down as Jointly Seconding Motion M-483."

If your intent is to instead vote your support, we would appreciate if you would communicate this to either Mr. Vellacott directly (Vellacott.M@parl.gc.ca , (613) 992-1899) or to me, so that we may monitor the level of support.

We enclose Equal Parenting brochures prepared by our member coalition organizations. The case for Equal Parenting is straightforward: When parents divorce, children are not divorced. Children and parents are entitled -as they have been for millennia- to an ongoing relationship with both parents. It is better for children, for parents, and for society.

If the attached brochures do not address issues you may have, including any issues related to party policy, we would be pleased to follow up on your specific items.

Should it be the case that you do not support M-483, we would appreciate being made aware of your specific concerns, as we can then research reasonable solutions. Once again, we believe this is an all-party issue, and in keeping with Canadian traditions, a compromise exists.

Canadian Equal Parenting Council is a national coalition of 35 organizations representing 9,100 members of the extended divorce community- single fathers/mothers, children, grandparents, step-parents, and second spouses numbering 10 million Canadians in total.

Thank you for your support on this initiative,

George Piskor

VP-Policy & Planning

Canadian Equal Parenting Council/ Conseil pour l'Équité Parentale du Canada

(905) 380-4310 phone  gwpiskor@nospamsympatico.ca

EQUAL PARENTING IN ONE PAGE

What is Equal parenting? Equal parenting is the presumption that parents should share the responsibilities and time of parenting on the basis of equal rights. Of course, parents may agree to divide duties – who drives the kids to soccer, who cooks certain days, who helps with certain homework – but if they can't agree, such as in a highly-conflicted divorce, both parents keep equal rights and responsibilities, unless one or both parents is clearly shown to be unfit.

Why do Parents need rights? Parents need rights because it is the only way to protect the rights of their children. Parents need rights to seek and approve educational and medical services for their kids, to get medical and educational records. Parents without rights have no standing in courts or in government or social service agencies. As minors, children have no standing in courts so parents must represent their rights. Parents without rights mean children without parents and kids without rights.

Why do parents need equality? Both parents need to be equal in rights to be equally respected and to fulfill equal responsibilities. While no one pretends that all parents provide exactly the same parenting time to their children, or exactly the same financial support, both need equal respect from the law, social services and in support programmes. Equality and respect is the best way to ensure that both parents are involved in kids' lives, especially after a separation.

Why do kids need both parents? Kids benefit from healthy male and female role models. They benefit from knowing their parents, grandparents and extended family, from the cultural, religious and moral values they teach. Parents are long-term, unpaid care-givers, a model for caring for others. The relationship between the mother and father is important also, for showing how to resolve arguments and conflicts. It is the model for future relationships. Research shows that kids who grow up without fathers have higher rates of educational, social and health problems. They are at higher risk of addictions, teenage pregnancy and suicide. A village is not a substitute for parents and government cannot parent. Less research has been done on motherlessness, but generally researchers believe mothers are at least equally important.

What is the movement for Equal Parenting? This movement, largely of parents and grandparents, seeks social change at three levels:

1. Reform of family law, court procedures and practice

2. Support for parents, particularly those suffering separation or divorce.

3. Education of the public and parents on why both kids need both parents and why equal parenting makes sense.

Why do parents need support? Divorce is the most stressful event that most people ever go through. It is a time when parents are emotionally fragile and must make important decisions, although vulnerable and upset. Professionals should educate parents and help both stay connected to kids, but sometimes they can view their job as deciding which parent is the "best" parent and exploiting the financial or emotional weakness of one parent to remove a parent from kids' lives. Parents may need support to get emotionally back in balance, to avoid being exploited by divorce professionals, to understand the divorce system and the effects on their children. In legal terms this may mean inserting the "rebuttable presumption" of joint custody in the Divorce act, and recognize that both parents keep rights & responsibilities after divorce.

For further information: Canadian Council for Co-parenting, www.coparent.ca 613.260.2659 c/o 631 Tubman, Ottawa, K1V 8L6 fax 613.260.0401

Briefing Note about: M-483 Private Member's Motion

"That, in the opinion of the House, the government should propose amendments to the Divorce Act so that law and practice ensure due process protection of rights and equality of parents, and to ensure that children benefit from equal parenting from both their mother and their father, after separation or divorce."

This motion, if it passes, will not change the law in Canada, but it will reflect the will of Parliament to fix the way the current system handles custody and access with separating parents.

Benefits of Equal Parenting (EP) in the Divorce Act:

• Parenting by both parents reduces child poverty
• EP reduces social problems: youth delinquency, school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, physical and mental health problems
• EP reduces conflict and likelihood of conflict escalating to violence
• EP increases grandparent involvement and transmission of healthy culture in at-risk populations
• EP reduces costs to parents in legal fees
• EP reduces court, policing and welfare costs to governments
• EP follows recommendations of the Joint-Senate Commons Committee on Child Custody and Access and adds:

- due process protection - recognition of a balance of rights and responsibilities - recognition of equality of parents

Recommendations:

Sign a letter addressed to the Journals Branch of the House of Commons at 140 North, Centre Block, which states: "Please put my name down as Jointly Seconding Motion M-483"

Support the motion by voting for it when it comes to a vote.

For further information: Canadian Council for Co-parenting, www.coparent.ca 613.260.2659 c/o 631 Tubman, Ottawa, K1V 8L6 fax 613.260.0401