Organizing dads
There are a handful of father’s rights groups in Canada. Here are five:
Fathers 4 Justice Quebec F4J Quebec is one of the only groups left under the F4J banner in Canada. F4J is a loose affiliation of father’s rights activist groups in North America and Europe and the name has sometimes been used as a catch-all for all activist father’s rights organizations. F4J Quebec says in its mission statement: To “defend and promote the traditional family remains at the heart of our commitment. Humanity still relies heavily on this axis of the family “father, mother, children” certainly the most universal tradition of the planet.”
F4J is best known in Quebec for its “superhero” protest atop the Jacques Cartier Bridge in 2005. Members of the group were found guilty of public mischief. CanLaw A long-running website run by Kirby Inwood in London, Ont., CanLaw purports to provide legal resources and lawyer referrals on a number of topics, but is associated with the men’s movement. Both the Law Society of Upper Canada and of British Columbia posted warnings in 2008 about the site after receiving complaints from women who sought legal referrals from CanLaw. One woman seeking a referral in a custody hearing received this reply from CanLaw, according to the Law Society of B.C.: “You are a deadbeat. You are also a lunatic. I hope you and your family die. Now go to hell.” Another reply read: “Women like you are monsters who take and take and take.”
NODADS
The NODADS (or Not All Dads Are Deadbeats) website claims the group is currently setting up chapters across Canada. Their goals include: “Advocating for and supporting those individuals harmed/mistreated by our Family Court System” and “True gender equality.” Children’s Aid cases and child support issues feature prominently in their material. Canada Court Watch CCW – which also goes by Family Justice Review Committee and the National Association for Public and Private Accountability – is an Ontario-based group that purports to put an end to the “needless injustices being perpetrated against many innocent children and families by institutions such as our family court system and branches of the Children’s Aid Society.” CCW’s main organizer is Vernon Beck, a long-time father’s rights activist who describes himself as an investigative journalist and children’s advocate, and has intervened in various family court proceedings and Children’s Aid cases. A judge in a custody case in 2006 ordered the personal details of the parties not be published because of the attentions of the group, pointing out comments on the CCW site called for the judge to be “tarred and feathered.” The organization has championed the causes of some women, mostly involved in situations with Children’s Aid. Fathers Are Capable Too F.A.C.T. was founded by Vernon Beck and regularly meets in the Toronto area. F.A.C.T. claims to be the largest “non-custodial parents’ and children’s rights organizations in Canada dealing with custody and access” and states its mission is to “provide education and support programs in parenting for children, their families and the total community.” Many of the posts are concerned with father’s rights and the role of fathers specifically.