[DIV class=storyheader] [H2] This would piss me off. Seriously. Another example of a woman completely trying to cut the father out from his kids, then when he found out about it, she signed the child away in spite.. and he cant do anything. You know if she kept the child and didnt inform him.. she would wait a few years then present him with a massive bill and he would HAVE to pay or else. Canadian courts dont care about the fathers. Never have and probably never will.
NOTE: Not all women are like this.. but the bad ones always seem to stand out. Sorry to the ones that I have generalized. Its the courts that frustrate me.
[/H2] [H2][A href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=07c6bd69-1398-4cb7-b4d5-59aa719ae3b4&k=0"]http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=07c6bd69-1398-4cb7-b4d5-59aa719ae3b4&k=0[/A][/H2] [H2]Father loses biological custody case[/H2] [H4]Saskatoon judge awards adoptive parents sole custody of nine-month-old baby[/H4]
[DIV class=feed_details] [H4]Kelly Patrick, National Post[/H4][SPAN]Published: Monday, January 29, 2007[/SPAN]
In a custody battle that pitted an earnest biological father against the
couple who adopted his son at birth, a Saskatoon judge today awarded sole
custody of the nine-month-old baby to his adoptive parents.
Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench Justice Shawn Smith went further,
however, barring the child's 34-year-old father from visiting his son for
one year, unless he and the adoptive parents reach a voluntary agreement.
"I am of the view that [the baby] should have a period of one year of
familial calm," Judge Smith wrote in explaining why he decided to cut off
the weekly visitations the father has had since last fall.
"He's extremely disappointed," Mark Vanstone, the father's lawyer, said.
A publication ban protecting the baby's identity prohibits the printing of
the father's name, the mother's name and the names of the Prince Albert,
Sask. couple who took custody of the child shortly after his birth last
April.
Although it may seem counter intuitive that the father's biological link to
his son did not carry more weight, Canadian courts have for decades put the
"best interests of the child" ahead of blood ties.
"I conclude from all the evidence, without hesitation, that [the baby's]
best interests are served by granting custody to the [adoptive parents,]"
Judge Smith wrote.
"It is clear that they present an environment that will best provide for his
health, education, emotional well being, opportunity for training and
economic and intellectual pursuits."
The father and the baby's mother, who dated on and off for less than a year,
broke up in November, 2005.
The father was not aware his former girlfriend was carrying his child until
a relative of the mother tipped him off shortly before the boy was born.
At that point the father and his new fiancé began a pitched fight to be in
the boy's life. A DNA test confirmed the father's paternity.
Meanwhile, the mother signed over custody to the Prince Albert couple.
The couple's lawyer, Dale Blenner-Hassett, said they are "very relieved" at the decision.
"They feel it was the right decision, and for the right reasons," he said.
He said the couple has not yet decided whether they will allow the father to see his son over the next year.
A visit previously scheduled for this morning did not go ahead, Mr. Blenner-Hassett said.
The father is scheduled to speak at a press conference at his lawyer's Saskatoon office at 3 p.m. ET.
