Parental Alienation

The adversarial nature of the family court fuels parental alienation rather than resolving it.  A key flaw is that family courts in Canada are structured in a win-lose paradigm, while alienation cases require a child-centric approach that prioritizes the emotional well-being of the children over parental grievances.

Take the case of 3 girls, aged 13, 14 and 16.  The mother would stop at nothing to vindicate herself before the court and prove once and for all that the father was wrong, evil and undeserving of being a parent.

The mother brought a contempt motion against the father because he had failed to consult with her before ultimately deciding to medicate their daughter who was suicidal.  The father was found in contempt and the judge imposed a jail term.  The father successfully appealed the finding of contempt.

Next the mother brought a variation application of the original court order imposing a shared parenting regime with regard to the 13 year old and 14 year old.  The mother conceded the point regarding the 16 year old that she could remain living with the father.  The mother was unsuccessful on the variation application.  She appealed and lost the appeal.  The appeal court drew attention to the following statement made by one of the girls’ therapists:

“Never have I met a parent so intent on being right or better, that they actually prioritize that over the child’s self-identified safety needs, sabotage the child’s therapy and protested a safety plan, nor have I met a parent who was so overtly hostile to a non-mandated support person who is intent on keeping their child alive and facilitating healthy reunification.”

I have litigated many parental alienation cases similar to the above case.  I include these cases in my book, Child Protection Law in Canada (2nd edition) for reason that I wish to make it clear that parental alienation, in its truest form, is child abuse.

There is a need for systematic reform.  Perhaps the family court should have a stronger mechanism to hold alienating parents accountable?  Perhaps child protection agencies should be mandated to intervene?