| March 10, 2003. [Ontario, address omitted to protect the damaged from
further persecution]
The Honourable Ernie Eves, Premier of Ontario
Room 281, Main Legislative Building
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1
Dear Premier Eves:
Re: Eviction of a mother and her four young children from their home because of
Ontario’s domestic violence policies
Today, I received a legal notice from Scotia Bank indicating that they are going to
foreclose on my family’s small Burlington home. I am a struggling mother but as a
result of persecution by authorities related to the domestic violence courts, had fallen
two months behind in the mortgage payments. This action by the bank will force myself and
my four young children out into the street.
As a mother of four who is trying to desperately to raise my children in decent
environment, I lay the vast majority of the blame for my current problems clearly on the
Government of Ontario and its domestic violence policies which seem geared to break up
marriages and to emotionally and financially destroy children and families. Our family has
been forced into financial ruin because of Ontario’s repressive, draconian,
anti-father and anti-family domestic violence policies.
Early last year, during a time in which I was suffering from depression and anxiety
during a disagreement with my husband at our home, I wrongly made false claims to police
that my husband had threatened my children and myself. I was pressured by the Halton
women’s shelter to divorce my husband, take the children away from him and to get him
put in jail for as long as possible. Yet my husband was a good, loving father and had
never abused or threatened the children.
When I gathered the courage to face the wrong I had committed and tried to tell the
Crown attorney in Halton that I was the one who was to blame and to tell them that the
criminal charges made against my husband were wrong, I was accused of being a liar and
further told that husbands, in general, are violent and oppressive towards women. The
Crown Attorney would not talk to me about my husband’s case but was very willing to
speak to the women’s shelter workers. From the very beginning, the pursuit of guilt,
not what was best for our family or for Justice seemed to be the goal.
To date, nobody in the court system wants to listen to me. The Crown Attorney’s
office does not want to listen. Nobody in the court system cares about myself or my
children, The Crown does not care about myself or my children. Even the clerks at the
courthouse, frowned at me for wanting to help my husband and to get the truth before the
court. My lawyers refuse to follow my instructions. Everyone seems to be turning their
back on Justice and taking the position that they have to do what they are doing because
of the laws.
It seems that the only thing that those in the system care about is that my husband is
found guilty, no matter what the truth is. This whole situation involving charges against
my husband by police and the Crown Attorney’s Office in Halton is scandalous and an
insult to the principles of Justice. Tens of thousands of taxpayer’s dollars have
been spent by local authorities to humiliate, degrade, embarrass and intimidate my husband
and myself. Yet, the courts complain how they are backlogged.
As a result of Ontario’s domestic violence policies, myself and my children are on
welfare, my husband is on welfare and lawyers have seized all of our assets through legal
aid liens. All this harm is because of the false and unwarranted charges against my
husband. Now, my children and myself are going to get evicted from our family home.
Although I must admit I share the blame in calling the police in the first place, our
family would not be in this current situation if only the police were more caring and
understanding and if the Crown Attorney’s office more willing to accept the reality
that false statements are sometimes made by couples affected by anger and depression
during times of family conflict. But is seems the pursuit of a conviction seems more
important that what is in the best interests of children, families and the community.
My husband and I are honest, hard working people who came to Canada with dreams of
raising our family in Canada. All of our four children were born in Canada. Since the
intervention of authorities in Halton after a disagreement between my husband and myself,
our dreams of a good life in Canada have turned into a horrendous nightmare. Everything we
have worked for in Canada has been stripped from us by the lawyers and the domestic
violence court system because of my mistake in calling the police to settle a dispute
between my husband and myself. My children miss their loving father and cry to see him.
They are angry at a justice system that they only see destroying their father and their
family. The Halton Children’s Aid Society have told me never to see my husband again
and have told me that they will take away my children if I allow my children to see their
loving and caring father.
Is this what life in Canada and Ontario is all about? With the authorities entrenched
in their inflexible position which seems intent on destroying our family, I can see no
future in this country for my family. We may very well be forced to pack our bags and
leave this country in order to set ourselves free of the persecution and injustice that we
face here in Canada.
Yours truly
[Name omitted to protect the damaged from further persecution]
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