Canadian court overturns parent's punishment

[Every Breaking Wave]

Source

A Canadian court has lifted a 12-year-old girl's grounding, overturning her father's punishment for disobeying his orders to stay off the Internet, his lawyer said Wednesday.

The girl had taken her father to Quebec Superior Court after he refused to allow her to go on a school trip for chatting on websites he tried to block, and then posting "inappropriate" pictures of herself online using a friend's computer.

The father's lawyer Kim Beaudoin said the disciplinary measures were for the girl's "own protection" and is appealing the ruling.

"She's a child," Beaudoin told AFP. "At her age, children test their limits and it's up to their parents to set boundaries."

"I started an appeal of the decision today to reestablish parental authority, and to ensure that this case doesn't set a precedent," she said. Otherwise, said Beaudoin, "parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on."

"I think most children respect their parents and would never go so far as to take them to court, but it's clear that some would and we have to ask ourselves how far this will go."

According to court documents, the girl's Internet transgression was just the latest in a string of broken house rules. Even so, Justice Suzanne Tessier found her punishment too severe.

Beaudoin noted the girl used a court-appointed lawyer in her parents' 10-year custody dispute to launch her landmark case against dear old dad.

 

[Misty]

this seriously sounds like joke news lol

 

[Fig]

Nope, it's real.

However it lacks elements of the story

1)The school trip in question was an important one, in that it was the final trip of elementary school. Unlike the US where (as far as I know) the transition from elementary to middle to high pretty much means attending school in a different building, with the same people, in Québec children who attended one elementary school will often split up between several schools in high school.

For example, my siblings and my best two childhood friends. All six of us attended the same elementary school. Between the six of us, we attended five separate high schools. No moving was involved ; we just split off between the numerous available special-project public schools and equally numerous private schools.

So being denied that school trip was a fairly big deal (as it's the last time she got to see a lot of these people), much bigger than the article's simple summary would let you know.

2)Québec is pretty strong on child rights. It's one of the provinces most keenly opposed to laws permiting that young people be judged as adults, and one of the provinces where the laws grant the most protection to children from parents.

3)The girl's parents are divorded, and in cases where parents are divorced and often conflict on proper disciplinary measures (the law generally grant parents some oversight of disciplinary matters even if the other parent has custody), the law does in fact allow for the court to serve as a neutral third party to resolve the conflict betwen parents. The law also allows the child an attorney to look after the child's own interest.

4)And of course, keep in mind that by and large most article on the matter features only or primarily the version given by the father's attorney.

The term "biased" comes to mind.

 

[I Started A Cult]

She hired a LAWYER!?

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

In the Canadian court system, in the case where the defendent cannot find a lawyer to take their case, the court will appoint one for them.

 

[Fig]

She hired a LAWYER!?

Read my post.

She had one appointed because the Québec law provide for the appointments of lawyer to defend children's interest in courts when divorced parents are too caught up in their own personal conflits to be trusted to do what's best for the child over what,s worst for the other parent.

And no, Québec is not particularly interested in the concept of "Father (or mother) knows best"

 

[evkl]

I can't comment on the Canadian judicial system, I don't know enough, but this would never fly in America...I think the decision--even if correct under the letter of the law--is foolish. A child taking her parent to court (but only if it's a single parent/divorced) because they don't like his style of parenting? Sets an odd precedent, especially in the tween/early teenage years, when such disagreement is part of growing up.