Only in Quebec: Court overturns father's grounding of 12-year-old

[chaos386]

Originally Posted by The CBC (emphasis mine)

But the judge's decision was not just a case of a child going to court to get out of trouble, said Miriam Grassby, a Quebec family lawyer who has spoken with the various attorneys involved.

Under Quebec family law, it is not uncommon for a child in a high-conflict situation between two parents to have an attorney appointed to protect his or her best interests, as was the case here, Grassby said.

"In Quebec, no matter who has custody, we have joint parental authority," Grassby told CBC News on Thursday. "There are issues of discipline where both parents have to agree, and if they don't, we will have a place" to resolve the issue in court.

The attorney representing the child had been chosen and agreed to by both parents, she noted.

"The court is there to be an objective third party, and these children who are in these high-conflict situations need the protection of the court," Grassby said.

"I think we could presume the judge had good judgment in the fact that she read the statements and found out what both parents were saying, and that the child was punished at least once for that, and this was excessive punishment."

While Beaudoin said the case is a first for her, she doubts it will trigger a flood of similar claims.

"Usually children have lots of respect for their parents and they wouldn't go there," said Beaudoin.

She said the judge stressed that the case was an exception.

"But for a field trip, I'm thinking this is a big exception," she said.

Hey guys? Can we stop with "OMG THE WORLD IS FALLINGS!!!111" alarmist stuff? It's a custody battle case. The divorced parents are arguing over the punishment, not just the daughter and the father. You can go back to posting stories about the UK nanny-state now.

[smib]

Well, it's nice to know that mothers in Canada don't care if their 12 year old daughters are posting pictures of themselves in the internet, inappropriate or not. Child porn/internet stalkers FTW.

[JipJopJones]

Only in Quebec.....

[YF19pilot]

Originally Posted by smib

Well, it's nice to know that mothers in Canada don't care if their 12 year old daughters are posting pictures of themselves in the internet, inappropriate or not. Child porn/internet stalkers FTW.

No, they're just like the divorce happy wives of the US. They don't care what damage they wreck on their children, just as long as they get custody so their husbands have to pay them extra money that they don't have to work for, and they can live cushy lives while their ex's lives are ruined by continuously having to pay up, and being painted an abuser and all sorts of things in the court of law.

[Vector]

A society such as ours with such a high divorce rate shouldn't even be allowed to have children.

[airmenair]

Originally Posted by chaos386

Hey guys? Can we stop with "OMG THE WORLD IS FALLINGS!!!111" alarmist stuff? It's a custody battle case. The divorced parents are arguing over the punishment, not just the daughter and the father. You can go back to posting stories about the UK nanny-state now.

Ok man, this IS ridiculous. Do you really think a disagreement over a 3 day field trip qualifies as a "high conflict situation"? C'mon man, the world is fucked up. Taken from the article:

Under Quebec family law, it is not uncommon for a child in a high-conflict situation between two parents to have an attorney appointed to protect his or her best interests, as was the case here, Grassby said.