December 28 [2007]

TIME TO CHANGE THE LEGAL SYSTEM PASS ON THIS LETTER

This is an outline of events that have transpired over the course of the last several weeks. This outline explains and details all of the conversations, events, and actions taken while attempting to save our daughter from abusive authority. Please read what has happened and, if you have any questions or would like to contact the Childrens Aid Society or the Kirkland Lake OPP, you will find contact information at the bottom of the document. Thank you so much for your interest, your help, and your prayers.

OUTLINE OF OCCURRENCES –

Wednesday (December 5th) – CAS worker Trish Armstrong appeared at our door unannounced. Upon coming to the door we were informed that a third party call had come in saying that the baby could not lift her head, was only 12 lbs, and that she is not Vaccinated. Knowing that these allegations were false we questioned the source of the call and asked for Identification and proof of authority over Celeste. We’ve never signed any forms or documents stating that we require the services of CAS. The worker got very offended that we had asked for Identification and informed us that if we continued to “make this difficult” she would contact the OPP and have us arrested and the baby apprehended. We had done nothing at this point to deserve such a threat, we simply wanted to discuss peacefully what was transpiring and the source of her information. We then stated that “we appreciate the concern as a human being but we don’t think it is necessary to threaten us and assert authority over us.” We invited her in to see the baby, who was napping in her swing, and continued to discuss the allegations. We informed her that all of our friends are parents and think Celeste is doing well, though she is small, we had started supplementing Pablum into her diet as well as breastfeeding her every 3 to 4 hours. Everyone said that Celeste is unusually aware, very energetic, and very happy. The worker was unconvinced and told us that she would be opening a file for us. We said that wasn’t necessary. At no point did she receive the full names of either parents or even the full name of Celeste. We informed her that our doctor is in New Liskeard and that we would make an appointment as soon as possible, we first needed to arrange a ride with a trusted driver. She asked why we hadn’t been to a doctor prior to this and we simply stated that as a matter of Faith we didn’t think the doctor was necessary but that this obviously changed things. She questioned our Faith and looked more than unimpressed. She informed us that she would be back in 1 week, would call this time, and I offered to make coffee the next time she was by.

Monday (December 10th) – We had a 2:30 appointment with Trish Armstrong and attempted to arrange Celestes play time with her visit. Trish called around the time of the appointment to inform us that she wouldn’t be coming because her own child was sick and needed to go home from school. It turned out that her child wasn’t sick but had instead wet his pants and felt ashamed and wanted to go home. We said that it was okay and that we didn’t mind if she came over the next day. I offered to make another pot of coffee for her visit.

Tuesday (December 11th) – Trish Armstrong returned with another worker at 2:45pm. We were surprised that she hadn’t told us of the other worker coming but took it all in stride. We invited them in, offered them coffee, and then sat down to discuss what we were doing and how we live. Trish seemed very happy about Celestes’ activity, and even admitted that her recent ability to lift her head and shoulders from the bottom of the playpen was an indication that crawling was not far off. We had taken the workers advice and increased the amount of Pablum and there were definite results. We informed them again that Celeste was breastfeeding and that we were doing what we could to see her gain more weight. We were asked about digestion and we informed her that Celeste was pooping regularly. Celeste sat with us throughout the meeting and was very attentive to anyone who was speaking. The worker continued to joke and speak with us about the world and other topics of general interest. We expressed concern about the third party phone call and said that it was obviously made by someone with a certain degree of ill will towards our family and obviously by someone who didn’t know us very well. She then informed me that they had received another phone call. This call was alleging that we smoke marijuana in the house. At this point we became concerned about the fact that someone was determined to cause trouble more than help Celeste. Trish brought up the fact that Celeste is not immunized and said that she had looked into that but there is no law saying that we must immunize. We informed her that we are always doing research and that we are very careful in our choices. She even went so far as to admit that there is no certainty in vaccinations. We discussed our interest in the law, in faith, and world events always highlighting the need for responsibility within society. Trish admitted that CAS has a bad history of abusing people but that there were a lot of changes for the better. We admitted that we had felt a tremendous amount of disrespect from her first visit but that we held no malice as mistakes happen. She apologized and explained that she often runs into a lot of resistance from those she contacts. It is our belief that your character determines your interaction with others, her point was well taken. She admitted that she often lets “her guard go up and it’s ‘okay well if I have to I’ll call the police and that’s not a problem” and admitted she had jumped too quickly and reacted incorrectly. We were more than gracious about the apology and shrugged it off as simply “reaction”. We stressed our appreciation for her concern as a human being and admitted that all of her information was very helpful. Her partner (teri?) admitted that the hardest part of these cases are the phone calls by people who don’t know you and just want to cause trouble. Trish even admitted that it was not uncommon to have a malicious allegation and that they “get them all the time”. Trish also admitted that, developmentally, Celeste is great, her attachment to her parents is great, but her only concern was that Celeste is tiny. We voiced our optimism and faith in Celestes strength but once again agreed to have it looked into as soon as possible. Trish also informed us that her sister had been through a similar experience with an underweight baby and the cause had been insufficient calories in the breastmilk. We listened very intently here and decided that this would probably explain everything. She voiced happiness about our supplementing pablum but mentioned that pablum does not have the same nutrients as formula, which we had tried before unsuccessfully. She said “keep doing what you’re doing, that’s important.” She then told us an anecdote about her own little boys and their weight problems at birth. From what we were told her boys were obese and could not fit into their car-seat at 4 months. She began concluding the interview with the words “I think you guys are on the right track”, discussed our interest in making homemade baby food, and even recommended a book she had read in the past. We then went on to discuss our faith again and we explained how this interview, in itself, proved our faith. We mentioned that our faith is in people and all other things in the world, that it is our belief that those who are meant to come into your life will come and teach you all that you need to know. We then expressed our gratitude for the information these two workers had brought to us. She was surprised to realize that she is constantly effecting someone elses life. Trish and her partner thanked us for having them and apologized that “these visits are not always positive”. She claimed to have enjoyed the conversation and learned a lot from the topics we discussed. She even voiced an interest in some of the law based and faith based websites we had talked about. She said that her partner would be dropping by next week and we were more than happy to comply, believing all the while that they were trying to help us.

20 minutes after the meeting we were called by Trish. She informed us that her supervisor had said that we must bring Celeste to a doctor within 24 hours. We said that this was not possible because we don’t drive and our Doctor is new Liskeard. Dr. Pace was very busy at this time of year and even in the slower times it often takes weeks to see him. She then informed me, in a very unfriendly tone, that if we did not comply she would have the police come and apprehend Celeste. I asked her if she said that she was taking my baby and she did not answer me. After a few minutes of protesting how forceful and aggressive she was being we were told to go to the Kirkland Lake Hospital Emergency Room. Melissa asked if she could get a registered nurse to come in right away and Trish told us that it would not be for quite some time. At this point we agreed to take Celeste to the hospital but declined her offer for a ride. We do not live very far and I do not think it will benefit Celeste to be in the company of someone who resorts to threats so quickly. In short, we were appalled by how we were being treated after so recently being apologized to by the very same person.

At 5:30PM we arrived at the Kirkland Lake General Hospital and spoke to the triage nurse. We were told that the doctor wouldn’t be back until 7pm so we offered to wait. At 7pm Dr. Spiller arrived but was unable to see us until almost 8pm. He said the baby is very tiny and that he would like to call a pediatrician to ask some advice. We said great and waited some more. Melissa fed the baby while waiting. By 9pm Dr. Spiller had come back and told us that Celeste needs care and that Dr. Madden is the best choice. He told us that an ambulance might be able to drive us and we agreed. Shortly after we were told that CAS was going to call us at home in order to discuss a ride to North Bay. When I got home there was a message from Trish that a ride was in the works but she would know more by morning. She said that there would be a stop in New Liskeard to switch drivers. I called the godfather of Celeste and he immediately came by the house out of concern. Upon hearing our situation he insisted on driving us in the morning so that we wouldn’t have more stress than was already on us.

Wednesday (December 12th)

At 8:00AM Garth, Celestes Godfather, had arrived to drive us to North Bay. I tried calling Trish repeatedly but was told that she didn’t arrive in the office until after 8:30am. I phoned back shortly after from Garths Cell Phone and informed Trish that we were already on the way and that the ride would not be necessary. I said I would call back when I arrived back in town. She said this was fine. The trip to North Bay was slow going and frustrating to our minds because we worried about being late for such an important appointment. After asking for directions a few times we finally arrived at the McLaren Site of the North Bay hospital and located Dr. Madden.

Dr. Maddens assistant did the intake interview and asked us many questions about Celeste, her temperament, her activities, and even our intentions. We stressed our concern for Celeste and our regret at not having seen this issue sooner. Dr. Madden came in and examined Celeste and immediately stated that “we do recognize her strength” but that her lack of thriving concerned him. He said it would be a few days in the hospital and we asked if Melissa would be able to sleep there and if there was anyway to find help for us regarding accommodations. He said that he would talk to the local social worker (Tricia Wells) to see if we could get assistance. We were sent to the fourth floor, room 408, and Celeste was immediately seen to by a whole team of doctors and nurses. Melissa and I were relieved that, although we had made a mistake, people were willing to help us and our daughter. Watching her get repeated blood tests and eventually an IV wasn’t easy on any of us, especially Celeste, but we held up strong and Melissa never left the babies side. Garth and Ray found shelter at the local Crisis Centre, once barely making the cutoff before they were full. The shelter itself was not quiet and offered very little rest but this was a small consequence compared to being close to Celeste and Melissa. After 2 days of being told the social worker had not done the paperwork for accommodations yet we finally received word from her partner that we would have a room at the Voyager Inn for Friday Evening. This news really lifted our spirits because the Inn is only 2 blocks from the Hospital and this would make the frequent visits easier and give Melissa better access to Ray in case of emergency. Celeste gained 200 grams in the first night once she was switched to Formula. The problem was, in fact, nutrition. We were relieved.

Friday (December 14th) At noon the social worker (Leslie) and another woman came to the door of the hospital. We were still very appreciative for the room and felt no reason to be alarmed by the presence of the new party. She then informed us that her name was Dyane Brunton and that CAS in Kirkland Lake had empowered her to investigate us. We didn’t see why but said we were more than happy to answer any questions and take any suggestions they might provide. Melissa was told that she was to be interviewed first and Ray second. This was confusing because you would think that the input of both parties would be more helpful to Celeste. Ray and Garth waited with the baby as more and more time went by. Finally, after an hour Melissa came back to the room crying and Ray was taken upstairs. Melissa was escorted by the CAS worker because she had asked if she could speak to him quickly before they questioned him. She was concerned about what was apparently an “ambush” but they refused to leave her side.

The interviews went very similar, which we discussed in detail afterward. Although the social worker present was trying to at least see our point of view and our need to address the problem we were now faced with, Dyane was determined to focus on what could have happened. We explained repeatedly that we understood and took responsibility for Celestes condition and that we were happy the Hospital was helping us. This wasn’t the subject that she wanted to hear. We were asked questions like “What if we hadn’t come?”, “What if Celeste would have died?”, “Why didn’t you notice sooner?”. We stated that these questions were mostly hypothetical and there was no way we could answer them. The fact is that CAS did come, Celeste did not die, and we had noticed but had taken the wrong approach to the problem. Once again, these answers were not satisfactory. We were shown another picture of a baby and, when we stated that the baby looked somewhat overweight, were met with dramatic shocked looks and even comments about our ignorance. Obviously if we’ve been around Celeste and she was underweight then our perception of another baby would be slightly biased. We admitted as much but always stated our willingness to learn and find more information. Ray even asked for a list of books after he was dismissed from the Interview. The worker seemed unhappy at his conviction to stay despite their lack of questions for him he had questions for them that he was under the impression they were there to answer. The interviews were aggressive, accusatory, and disrespectful. An unbiased party would have at least listened to our answers and asked questions based on those answers. Dyane simply had a list of all the things she felt we needed to feel guilty about and until we felt the guilt that she was focused on she would not stop repeating the same questions. Everything was focused on what had happened before we arrived at the hospital, but any rational human being knows that the past cannot be changed, only the present. Garth had interrupted the meeting between Ray and the CAS worker in order to inform him that Melissa was very upset. Ray asked why this was so, as “normally professionals are a little more delicate”. Dyane seemed not to care. We expressed our gratitude for the help the hospital was providing again but this seemed to fall on deaf ears.

After the interview we discussed what had happened and decided that the doctor would be the best person to talk to about the harsh treatment of CAS. Dr. Madden was not there and his associated (Lindsey Much) spoke to Ray and Garth in his place. She was told about the excessive use of threats by CAS and we asked her if there was anyway we could continue to have the aid of the hospital during and after Celestes stay without the biased interference by CAS. She said no and then asked us to leave the room so that she could attend to a phone call. We agreed and went back to Celestes Room. Within 5 minutes hospital security suddenly approached the door of the room and asked Garth to leave the floor. He asked why and they said that “Visiting hours are over” despite the fact that Visiting hours had in fact ended over an hour before and hadn’t been a problem. Ray asked for just 2 minutes and was told no, Garth has to leave. Alarmed but not wanting to cause conflict, Garth agreed to wait for us by the elevator. The social worker then reappeared and stated that Melissa and Ray were to be “interviewed” together now. Melissa had a very bad feeling at this point and stated that she would prefer to stay with Celeste because this is why we’re here. We asked if there was a way we could do the interview later in the day when we had managed to compose ourselves after such a trying ordeal. She said no, that it must be done now, and that the baby would be fine in the nurses care. She escorted us off the floor and as we approached the Elevator doors we found Garth sitting in a chair with a large police officer standing over him. We were later informed that this police officer had told Garth “shake my hand or I’ll arrest you” and that they had Garths license plate, address, cell phone number, and even his car was boxed in by a police cruiser. We were going to wait for the elevator but the social worker told us that the stairs were faster and it was only one floor. We said okay, we’re used to climbing stairs as we walk everywhere anyway. Once into the stairway the original police officer followed us closely and, when Ray introduced himself in an honest attempt at civility and offered to shake his hand, the officer refused and said “that would mean that I know you well”. This upset Ray slightly because he has a tremendous belief in the need for people to act openly and honestly with each other. Ray said as much, stating “It’s sad when we’ve gotten to a point where we won’t even shake hands” and the officer simply stated “that’s the way it is now”. We were followed into the office of the social worker where Dyane was waiting at the table. The door leading to the next office was open and, once the door was shut behind us, two more officers appeared. We were told to sit down while they continued to stand ominously over us.

Dyane wasted no time, there was no “interview”, it had been nothing but a ruse to get us into the office where the police were already waiting. This was less than 30 minutes after the original interviews which seemed very suspicious. We were told that Celeste was being apprehended and that we were only allowed to have 1 hour supervised visits. We attempted to ask questions, including how it makes sense to pull parents who are willingly at the hospital because of love for their daughter out of the picture. We asked about Celestes mental state, as this is equally as important as her body (as any developmental psychologist will tell you). We asked why we were being yelled at. We asked for Identification and were refused and, once again, told to shut up. We attempted to ask what law was being enforced and were told to “stop playing games”, “stop talking in circles”, and “the law has nothing to do with this”. One officer, the tallest, yelled at Ray and said “No, you don’t have the right to ask questions, you have the right to shut up! Do you understand ‘shut up?!’”. Ray said no and continued to calmly try to address what was going on. Melissa began to get upset at the news that Celeste was being taken away and even more frustrated by everyone refusing to speak in a civil and rational manner. She began to cry harder and ask “Why?! Why are you doing this? Why are you so angry?!” and the female officer immediately placed a hand to her gun. Ray once again demanded Identification and one officer consented to provide his badge number but not his business card. Peace Officers are required to provide 3 pieces of ID. Badge number, Identification, and their business card. We were told harshly by the cops that “We are here to protect your daughter from your strange experimentation”. We asked “what experimentation” and were met by silence. This comment was referencing our views on faith, there is no doubt about that.

Finally, seeing that we were getting nowhere through discussion, we asked if we could at least see Celeste before we were escorted off the property. They said yes but that it would be under police escort. We took the elevator and the tallest officer told Ray that they were used to people yelling, getting upset, and even throwing tables. Ray stated he had no intention of acting like that because “what kind of father would I be if I showed my daughter how to act like that?”. This was disregarded but the officer agreed to wait outside the room provided Ray gave his word to “behave”. Ray and Melissa did so, never wanting to disturb the peace. Celeste was being held by a nurse in the room as we arrived. She passed our baby to us and we simply stood, rocking and crying, telling Celeste to be strong and that we would be back soon. It was a horrible feeling and a disgusting situation. We were told that it was time to go by Dyane and the police escorted the three of us, Melissa, Ray, and Garth onto the elevator. One officer even went so far as to ask her partner “So, how was that for you?” which he laughed at and said “not bad.”. We left the hospital grounds without causing a disturbance and bitterly returned to our car. We went to the Voyager Inn and began calling everyone we knew. We phoned Melissas’ parents, friends in Kirkland Lake, friends in Calgary, and even Robert-Arthur:Menard in British Columbia. Every single contact that we had made over 2 years of researching the law was called and informed of what was going on. It was apparent to us that the authorities in North Bay were biased and that the chances of having a fair and impartial trial were slim to none. We had no access to the internet and so repeatedly visited a local Internet Café in order to contact more and more support. At 2 in the morning we sadly had to admit that nobody else was available and that, because the CAS worker had waited until 4pm on a Friday to take Celeste away and escort us off the property, no legal aid or counsel was available until the following Monday. Truly, we had been trapped.

Saturday (December 15th) and Sunday (December 16th) – Over the weekend we had spoken to several people about what to do and many of them told us that it seemed as though we were being made into villains unfairly and that this situation was obviously entrapment. Nobody who was aware of what was happening had any belief that the treatment we and Celeste had been shown so far would change in the future. We were very upset by this because we often talk about how society can improve its way of life by simply being responsible and peaceful. Our lives are dedicated to this belief and it seemed almost ridiculous that our responsibility and peace was being used against us. We decided that it would be in our best interest to first talk to Dyane again on Monday during our “supervised visit” to find out exactly what charges were being made.

At this point a suspicion that had been sitting in the back of our minds began to emerge and everything up until this point started to make sense. Ray immediately phoned his estranged mother to ask her if she had made the phone calls to CAS. It is important to realize here that Ray and his mother are not close, she had abandoned him to his grandparents as a small child and then later had abused him with her alcoholic boyfriend which caused him to run away. This was at 13 years old. Ray and Melissa traveled to Kirkland Lake in April of 2006 in the hopes of comforting his mother, Joanne Kivimaki, while she was ill in the hospital. Ray truly just wanted to get to know his mother before it was too late to do so. We arranged for an apartment directly across the street from her house and visited daily for the first year. As the visits continued it became more and more apparent that Joanne did not enjoy our view on the world, always wanting to focus on the negatives of her life instead. Even on days when she was feeling better she would always add “for now, it will get worse though”. We believe that our perception of life changes the outcome of it and Joanne does not like this idea and seemed to get increasingly miserable and detached throughout the months. In fact, Joanne had only come to the apartment across the road once and never returned again. Melissa and I were the only ones who continued to make the effort to know her, had it not been for our efforts we would have rarely seen her. Once Melissa was pregnant with Celeste we expected Joanne would be happy. She was, but not for the reasons we had originally assumed. From the start she would refer to the baby as “her baby” and talk about all the things they could do together. This alarmed us because it seemed that Joanne had so far removed herself from the actual history of her own parenthood that she was now trying to vicariously live as a parent to Celeste. Still, there was little to no desire to visit. After the baby was born we moved into a new home at the other end of town. We were still only a 15 minute walk from Joannes house and did our best to visit when we could despite the fact that a new baby requires a lot of attention and we don’t drive. Joanne visited the house once for 15 minutes, got upset that her husband wasn’t allowed to smoke in our house, and never returned. The only other time we had seen her near the house was when her husband had come to drop off a birthday gift and Joanne refused to enter. Over the years this woman has taken a lot of medication, done a great deal of justifying her own abandonment, and has gotten quite talented at making up her past as she sees fit. When I asked her on the phone why she had called CAS rather than simply calling us to voice her concern, she simply stated “We see life differently, that’s all. And you never call me.” This just shocked us. She went on to say “I don’t feel bad” after we told her that the police had escorted us off the hospital grounds and had taken Celeste away. I asked why she didn’t simply come over if she was so concerned for the baby and she said “You won’t let us smoke or drink at your house”. These reasons are the core of why my mother called CAS to begin with, it was never to help Celeste, it was to get even with me for being happy despite her own guilt for abandoning me. It was done out of malice, not concern.

Not wanting to make a mistake and lose our daughter we decided it was best to ask a few more questions and then go about seeking legal aid (as the office was closed for the weekend). At this point Patricia (Melissas mother) had arrived by plane from Calgary to offer support throughout this ordeal.

Monday (December 17th) – Starting at 8:00AM we began trying to contact Dyane to inform her that Celeste Grandmother was in town and would like to see her. Nobody called us back so we simply went to the hospital for our 9:00AM appointment and found Dyane already waiting for us in the room. The three of us, Melissa, Ray, and Patricia, were overwhelmed with emotion from the very start of the visit. Happy to see Celeste gaining weight steadily we asked the nurses as many questions as we could about her weight, what the doctor had said, and what was going to be done from here on in. Within 5 to 10 minutes of our arrival, and while we were all huddling around Celeste happily, Dyane immediately brought up the possibility of a foster home. We had done nothing but show concern for Celeste and the quick reference of a foster home was alarming to all of us, including Patricia. Patricia was shocked by the unfriendly and malicious tone from Dyane and stated her agreement that everything seemed to be ridiculously biased. We asked Dyane to not mention such things in front of the baby, which should be obvious, and this simply made her more unfriendly.

We were told that we would be served a summons to court the next day and that our court date would be on Wednesday. This immediately surprised us because there had been little to no investigation, no conversation outside of the original ones on Friday (which only lasted 1hour and 15minutes combined), and still no mention of the charges. Things did not feel right to any of us and we immediately went to the internet café to contact our friends for advice. Over the last several years Melissa and I have focused very hard on understanding our world and, more importantly, how this world was formed. We are always curious about history, politics, and the law and have come to a good understanding of Canadas Common Law Jurisdiction. We understand that Canada is based on a representative government and that the government achieves consent through our willingness to sign a contact giving them authority. This contact is a birth Certificate and then later a SIN (Social Insurance Number). We had done a lot of research and discussed the topic with a lot of people but never followed through with the process of “revoking our consent to be represented” or “abandoning our SIN” because we truly believed it was not necessary, that the government were truly there to help the people. Not having a lot of options available to us, and fully trusting our ill feeling of being ambushed, we attempted to find a Notary in North Bay who would help us with the lawful procedures necessary to revoke consent. We found a notary who was willing named Jeffrey Froud the next day. It was never our intention to breach the peace, we were simply aware of how biased the case was and it seemed prudent to avoid the conflict (as is the rule of law) rather than walk into an ambush. Celeste does not have a Birth Certificate and it is my understanding that the Birth Certificate, once signed by the parents, is consent to have Celeste governed. We did not register her for a simple reason, we wanted her to be old enough to understand what she was signing a contract to before we signed it for her. This is out of respect for her and her right to choose how to live. We DID get a health card with the name Celeste Davies-Rheault but no signature had been added and there was never any admittance that Celeste is that name, simply that we use the account for services. We did not like the fact that we were forced to simply tell CAS that Celeste wasn’t registered but they refused to hear any other discussion about parenting or even Celestes well being. We did what we thought was necessary to get our daughter away from unethical, biased authorities who had made us out to be villains with little to no investigation or knowledge about who we are.

Tuesday (December 18th) – After an entire morning of running around trying to contact people who might listen (such as the OPP, North Bay Police) we finally realized that nobody was willing to even listen to our side of the story. Frustrated, we ventured to Mr. Frouds office and had our Lawful Claim of Right notarized for the purposes of taking a lawful approach and stating publicly our intention to live lawfully and responsibly according to the law of god (which is paramount and the basis of all law in Canada). We then returned to the hospital to find Dyane holding Celeste, Celeste did not look happy. We began the visit wanting to simply talk with Celeste but Dyane wanted to get her job over with quickly. She handed us a half-inch thick summons for each of us and told us that we were to be in court tomorrow. We informed her of our Claim of Right and that the judge is acting based on false information and a lack of birth certificate. She then asked if we were refusing a summons and we said “no, but it is my understanding that if we can avoid conflict we should do so and that a summons by the Ontario Security Commission is merely an invitation, not an obligation.”. After all, you do need the consent of both parties for adjudication and we were not consenting to what was obviously a “kangaroo court”. We then informed her that the document we had mentioned was going to be officially and lawfully served to her at the CAS headquarters the next day. This was all done peacefully and without malice, but she did not take it as such. She became very defensive and threatened to have us removed if we continued behave “inappropriately”. She then asked why we were video taping the visit with Celeste and we simply stated that we had the right to do so. Angrily, she introduced us to yet Another worker who was going to be observing the visit and then left the room. We had a window into the nurses office in Celestes room and Dyane immediately got on the phone and stayed on, looking quite angry, for 45 minutes. We continued to talk to the worker in the room and play with Celeste until the end of our appointment at 3pm. Celeste was to have an ultrasound at this point and we were happy to hear it though nobody would tell us why. Dyane then returned to the room and asked the other worker to step outside. She informed me that it was illegal to videotape her, I asked her to repeat herself because I honestly thought she had made a mistake. She again informed me that it is illegal to video tape her without her permission and that I should turn my camera off immediately or the visit would be over. I complied immediately, not wanting to breach the peace but confused. From the doorway she stated that she had asked the doctor to delay the appointment so that we could spend more time with Celeste. We were overjoyed but something in her tone, her manner, and her sudden willingness to treat us humanely made us uneasy. We noticed that there was still no worker in the room at this point and that this was directly against what we were told was allowed. We said that it was better if Celeste got some sleep (as she was very tired) and that we would return the next day. We miss her dearly and this was not easy to say. Dyane looked unhappy about our leaving and did her best to make us feel guilty, all the while blocking the door and acting very conspiratorial. Security once again approached the door to Celestes room and Ray got a gut-feeling that we should go. Security followed us throughout the hospital, even watching us as we left the hospital grounds. We found a taxi and returned to the motel. 1 hour later the North Bay Police came to our door.

The Police asked if we knew why they were there, we said no. They asked if we remembered an incident, and we said no. They then went on to ask our name, which of course we didn’t give them as we had just recently abandoned our SIN and thus the name of our “person” (in the legal sense). The police refused to provide ID of their own. They informed us that the “hospital staff” (who were not present at our visit) had reported that Ray refused to turn off his camera when asked and had acted inappropriately. This was untrue, and we still have the tape that proves it. Ray immediately complied and the hospital had lied deliberately to the police officers in an attempt to get us to breach the peace. The officers became angrier and Ray informed them that the Chief of North Bay Police Services, Paul Cook, was being served a copy of the Claim of Right and Notice of Understanding and Intent for both Ray and Melissa in the next day. The Document itself clearly states that if anyone would like to contest its contents they are welcome to do so within 10 days or it stands as Lawful. Nobody has contested this. The police became angrier and finally left without being able to enter the room or confiscate our camera. Honestly everyone in the room was frightened at this point. More and more each of us were becoming aware that, not only were we being treated harshly, the authorities were going out of their way to accuse us of things that did not happen. We spent the rest of the evening trying to get in touch with everyone and inform them of what was happening. People were getting upset.

Wednesday (December 19th) – We woke up early again and immediately looked into finding a lawful way to get our documents to all the parties involved and inform them that Celeste is not a legal ‘person’ as we understand it and that anyone had the right to contest our claims before we were willing to enter into adjudication. Jesus Christ himself said the same thing when speaking of avoiding conflict before you go to court. We hired a local process server (Ian Shago) to serve copies of our Notice and Claim of Right to Justice Louisette Duchesneau-McLachlan (the justice holding court), Nathalie Rousseau (the CAS acting Supervisor), Staff Sargeant Irving Sloss (OPP), Mark Hurst (CEO of the Hospital), and Chief Paul Cook of the North Bay Police. Ian had no trouble making certified true copies as these documents are stamped and notarized and no trouble in serving the involved parties. I have an affidavit of service to verify this. At 3:45pm Dyane called and very shortly, and angrily, stated that “the judge has ruled against you and you are no longer allowed to see Celeste.” Ray stated simply that in his desire to avoid conflict he had served documents to her and all other involved parties and asked if they were willing to contest the contents. This was dismissed and the reply was simply “Well, the judge has ruled against you.” There was no offer to discuss and no intention of being pleasant on any level. Garth and Ray waited for an officer from the court to either collect Ray or bring copies of the court ruling to our room. The police knew where we were, we’ve never hidden from them. Nothing came. In fact, to this moment we have still not received a copy. We continued to call around to the authorities in an effort to at least discuss our Claim and have it enforced. We asked repeatedly if they would discuss the fact that Celeste was not a “person” and they simply said no, they will not discuss it. We asked them if we were wrong in our claim or if they would like to contest it in any way, we were told they would not answer that. We asked them, if they are not willing to contest, if they would then abide by the Criminal Code of Canada Section 337 and return our daughter to us as she is Lawfully Claimed in the documents provided. Although they refused to contest the claim, they also refused to “go against the judge.”. This seemed very odd to us because it seemed as though nobody was saying we were wrong, they were simply saying they didn’t know the law and that they refused to question a judge. We know that a judge is also human and makes mistakes like everyone else. It seemed ridiculous to not question a judgment simply because it was made by someone officially known as a judge. A judge is not a god. All we asked was that someone contest the claim, provide a ruling, or support the law. Nobody would help. We went to bed that night thoroughly disheartened and absolutely shocked by everyones unwillingness to even discuss our situation.

Thursday (December 20th) – Early in the morning we set out from the motel. It was our intention to talk to the people served directly and either have our claim contested or enforced, whichever was lawful. First we visited the Sheriffs office and handed them a copy of the written demand under section 337 of the criminal code. The clerk was provided copies of the Claims of Right as well as given specific directions as to what sections of the Criminal Code were being mentioned. The first clerk then went to look in the Criminal Code to verify the wording that I mentioned (and had looked into several times before this meeting) and then disappeared into the back of the office to talk with his supervisor. We stood patiently, waiting for someone to return. First a blonde woman appeared from the back office and told us that my daughter is not property. We said we understand that but there is no mention that a Claim of Right must only apply to property. We also made the point of mentioning that CAS was currently treating Celeste like property without even proof of claim. Once again there was no contestation to the document but simply the refusal to discuss it. Her supervisor then appeared and Ray went over all of the reasons we were there. He said he would go look into it and that we should sit in the lobby. This has all seemed to take forever and throughout every moment of every day we missed Celeste more and more. Finally the supervisor returned from upstairs and informed us that Jurisdiction had been passed to Kirkland Lake. He also mentioned that Celeste had probably been moved there as well. This seemed odd and Ray asked if the man was sure, he said he wasn’t. Ray asked again to speak with the Sheriff but was told that “there is no Sheriff” at the Sheriff’s office. Frustrated but determined, we continued on to the local OPP detachment to talk personally with Staff Sargeant Irving Sloss. Mr. Sloss would not come out from behind the glass at the reception desk to speak with us and blatantly refused to discuss our Claim of Right or the Criminal Code. Ray stated that he simply wanted answers and that if his Claim was being contested he would be happy to discuss it. Mr. Sloss said nothing and simply shrugged the document off as “your words” but refused to answer the question when asked to state his contestation under oath and penalty of perjury. Instead he simply stated that he “would not go against the judge” and ended the conversation. Garth, who is ex military and a strong believer in the police force, was disgusted by what he saw that day and stated so repeatedly. All we wanted was answers and nobody would even talk to us.

Feeling sickened, helpless, and absolutely disheartened by everyones lack of willingness to even discuss the matter, we returned to the motel and then immediately went to the local internet café to tell people what was going on. A friend and associate, Robert-Arthur:Menard, was up to date with what was happening and became quite upset. He has spent the last 7 years studying the law, deconstructing acts and statutes, and educating people about how to live lawfully and responsibly. He is also ex military and has a great deal of faith in the people of our Country. He informed us that he was writing a letter to the Kirkland Lake OPP and CAS in the hopes of getting their attention and, hopefully, educating them about the topic we were attempting to bring up. Celestes lack of Birth Certificate. Ray had nothing to do with the writing of this letter but agreed to print it and fax it as soon as possible. The letter was strongly worded and, although we disagreed with the tone, we were willing to help anyone support us who was willing. In his letter to the OPP, Rob had mentioned that section 39 of the Criminal Code does, in fact, allow people to defend anything under a claim of right by any means necessary. He went on to include the right to a firearm. It is important that you realize here that Ray and Melissa had nothing to do with the writing of this letter and although the name “Ray” was mentioned it was never done so in connection with Robs message. We continued to wait for a response from someone willing to discuss the matter with us.

Friday (December 21st) – We started our morning out early once again and immediately ventured to the local internet café to do some research into who we could contact. We began mailing people a brief outline of what was going on but with little detail as we were still very busy trying to talk to someone in authority or even to get a copy of the court ruling. After many many emails with various friends, legal advocates, and associates we returned to the motel to begin making phone calls. I got the name of the Officer in Charge at the OPP station in Kirkland Lake. Constable Bryce Wilson who I had heard very good things about from our friends in Kirkland Lake. He was an ex Kirkland Lake police officer who had transferred to the OPP when the Kirkland Lake Police were disbanded. Ray spoke to him on the phone at approximately 1pm and asked if he had received our many letters, the Claim of Right, Demand, and everything else that had been sent in. He mentioned that he had just gotten the message from earlier that morning and that he would need more time to read the documents over. Ray was more than understanding and offered to call him back in an hour. In the meantime, we went in search of another process server so that we could serve copies of the same Claim of Right to Chief Superintendent Ken Miller. Ian Shago had ventured out of town at this point and his brother Donald Shago had said he could no longer help us but would not mention why. We then called Canadian Process Servers and were told that it wouldn’t be a problem since the documents were Notarized. Tyler, the process server, arrived and picked up the documents, the letter of instruction, as well as pictures of both parties. He said we would call back if there were any problems. At 2pm Ray called back and was told that he was still looking things over. Ray offered to call back at 4pm and discuss what was transpiring, all the while expressing his sadness at losing his Daughter and his determination to get answers to his questions. During this 2 hour gap in communication Ray phoned Annie Mino, a social worker from Kirkland Lake, to inform her that Celeste was still in the North Bay Hospital and that we would be staying as long as necessary. She informed him that the North Bay Hospital had just called and told her that “Celestes parents are no longer necessary in North Bay” and that, without the hospital saying so, Social Services would not be able to help us. Annie expressed surprise at the tone of the person who had phoned her, saying that they were extremely abrupt. This also seemed very odd because, if Celestes best interests were at stake, the parents should be absolutely necessary. At 4pm Ray phoned the constable back in order to discuss the documents. A North Bay Police Cruiser pulled into the motel parking lot while he was on the phone. The police came to our door, which was answered by Garth, and asked if he was Ray. Garth said no and they immediately tried to come in the door of the room. Melissa, Patricia, and Garth all informed the police that they could wait at the door after repeated attempts to enter. I asked the constable on the phone to wait for a brief moment and went to speak with the officers, telling them from the start that I was in contact with the Kirkland Lake OPP. They were very angry, telling me repeatedly to “Stop the bullshit” and “Stop being smart”. They misquoted the Criminal Code, refused to answer questions of any kind, and informed us that they were going to search the room for a firearm. Ray asked why and they said they had reason to believe he had one. He asked what reason and they refused to answer. Ray saw a copy of Robs letter in one of the officers hand and stated that the letter was not written by him and had nothing to do with him at all. The officers got angry and stated “Well, your name is on it.” This implies that we could write a letter with anyones name on it and they would be liable for our words? This made no sense. Ray refused them entry because of lack of evidence and then continued to face them calmly while they yelled at everyone in the room. They asked if “anyone has any common sense” because they didn’t want to talk to Ray. Garth was getting very upset by the lack of respect these officers were showing and Ray immediately went about keeping the peace. Despite the officers attempt to yell Ray into breaching the peace the fact is that Ray did nothing but ensure the peace was kept. He simply wanted his daughter back and he stated so. The officers finally were told to leave by dispatch and informed us that we had been cautioned without stating what we had been cautioned about or even what law was being referenced. Once again no Identification was provided. Wanting no hard feelings Ray said “Gods peace be upon you” and was answered in hostility “I don’t believe in God, I’m an atheist.” This was becoming clearly evident. At this point everyone in the room was getting increasingly upset at the conduct of those who are meant to protect us. They refused to abide by, discuss, or even acknowledge the Criminal Code of Canada or any other Act or Statute. It was becoming obvious that the authorities did not know their own law and refused to treat people humanely. We were assumed guilty before being proven innocent. It was shameful.

After the officers had left the room Ray called Constable Wilson back to inform him of what had happened. He seemed a little surprised by the conduct of the Police and told Ray “Well, you did mention a firearm”. Ray stated quite clearly that the letter wasn’t even his own and that it seemed wrong to be accountable for someone elses document. The constable agreed and then began to discuss our side of the story. It wasn’t long before the constable ran out of knowledge regarding the law and simply stated “the judge has ruled against you.” He was informed that the judge was acting upon a non-existent “person” and that the case was held without both parties consent. Not understanding what a Claim of Right is, constable Wilson then went on to mention that “to him” a person and a human being is the same thing. Ray simply stated that his own personal definitions for the world had nothing to do with the actual definitions in the Law. When it comes down to it, the law is all that should matter if it is being used to abuse someone. Ray pleaded for help and for understanding, he pleaded as a father, a human being, and a man of peace. Constable Wilson simply did not understand what was being said. At the end of the conversation Mr. Wilson stated simply “I will not help you” despite his unwillingness to contest the Claim of Right. Ray was saddened by this and said “then we are truly lost” and the constable actually agreed by saying “It would seem so.” Disgusted, Ray told him that he should be ashamed” and hung up the phone. At this point Tyler had not returned yet and we began to wonder why. We called his cell phone and were informed that the courthouse had refused to make certified copies of the Claim of Right because “they are not lawful documents.” Considering that they had been copied and certified 2 days earlier for 5 other people this seemed even more suspicious. Tyler did not look happy but simply returned the deposit and went home.

Within minutes we were back on our way to the Internet Café and then to get something to eat. Our spirits had fallen pretty far at this point but we remained positive that someone would eventually hear us out, at the very least. We returned to the motel room at approximately 6:30pm to find a message from constable Wilson. His voiced sounded tired and weary but he told us that a Detective Sargeant Richard Witty would like to talk to us on Monday. He also stated “we’re trying to help you”. This gave us incredible hope and we spent the rest of the weekend writing letters about what had happened so far and what we were hoping to accomplish.

Saturday (December 22nd) and Sunday (December 23rd) – Most of our weekend was spent trying to cope with the emotional and physical stress of being away from Celeste. Our friends comforted us more times than we ever thought possible, people offered to write letters to the OPP and CAS explaining our character and our willingness to admit our mistakes, and even the staff at the motel did their best to make our stay as pleasant as possible. It helped, but barely, neither of us have ever felt so much pain and anguish in our lives. Even being an abandoned child himself, Ray was unable to rid himself of the shock of having Celeste taken away. We cried and phoned people, sent out emails to everyone we could (including MP’s, the Premier of Ontario, and others), and tried to inform the people of North Bay what was happening. Everyone sympathized and wished us good luck in getting her back. We would like to mention here, once again, that our entire lives are centered around “knowing ourselves”, understanding others and the world around us, and promoting responsibility. These characteristics reflect in everything we do and everything we say. Everyone who knows us, knows we are loving parents and they agree that all of this experience has been unnecessary.

Monday (December 24th) – We phoned Detective Witty first thing in the morning but found that he was not in yet. One of the communications agents offered to call his Cell and Ray said that would be helpful. At approximately 10:30 we finally reached Detective Witty, who had now had a chance to read the letters from Melissa, Ray, and Patricia. He expressed concern over our not going to court and stated that “in hindsight, you should have went.” Ray agreed but stated clearly that everything we had witnessed had been unlawful, unethical, and inhumane and we honestly had no reason to believe that the court (which is directly across the street from CAS) would be any different. Ray expressed his wish to discuss things peacefully and the Detective was more than receptive. He is also a father and related to Rays anguish. He admitted that it was odd that a court ruling had not been delivered and that the CAS worker and the Police had treated us as they did. He promised to look into the situation right away and ended the call in order to try to reach CAS in Kirkland Lake. Ray talked to the Detective again at approximately 11:45AM when Mr. Witty called to inform us that CAS was not answering their phone but he had left several messages. He mentioned that he could not get in touch with John Raymond (Executive Director of CAS) or anyone below him and would be trying to reach Trish Armstrong. He mentioned that he had called simply as a courtesy so that “we wouldn’t be left in the dark.”. 10 minutes after being told that the Detective had left a message in Kirkland Lake with no answer, CAS in North Bay called the motel room. It was the supervisor Nathalie and the call was very abrupt and ended very quickly. “Your daughter is on her way to Kirkland Lake Hospital. She is out of the danger zone. We’re calling to inform you that Jurisdiction has been passed to Kirkland Lake”. Upset that she had been moved from the very place where we were told she would get the best care Ray phoned the hospital to find out that she had, indeed, been moved but that her stroller and car-seat had been left in North Bay. Our first concern is Celeste and the car-seat and stroller are just things, they can be replaced and Celeste cannot. Ray called the detective and left a message to inform him that Celeste had been moved and that we had a Cell phone he could reach us on. We dropped Patricia off at the North Bay airport and then immediately started home. The detective did not call back and would not return our messages so we assumed that he had gone home to spend time with his family at Christmas. We understood but wished that we could do the same.

Tuesday (December 25th) – Christmas Day was the hardest day out of all of this. Back at home we were constantly reminded of where Celeste was not. Her swing, her playpen, her highchair were all empty reminders of what we were missing and it broke our heart. We left another message for the Detective but nobody answered. We spent the day trying to console ourselves and remind ourselves that Celeste is very strong minded and when we see her again, though it may take some time, she will recover from this time away from us. It was a day of feeling helpless and alone and we would wish this experience upon nobody.

Wednesday (December 26th) – Once again most of our time was spent trying to get in touch with Detective Witty. We had sent letters to CAS as well and stated our love for Celeste as well as our belief that what was being done is unlawful. Still nobody has contested our Claim of Right, nobody has brought us a court ruling, and nobody will discuss what is going on. By this point Ray had received an email from Chantal Lacroix (the Secretary of John Raymond) and informed us that Jurisdiction had “not been passed” and would not be until after January 2nd. So now we started to question what we had been told and wondered truly if Celeste was even at the Kirkland Lake General Hospital as we had been told. Detective Witty still did not call and nobody knew where he was. More messages were left.

Thursday (December 27th) – We continued to talk with friends, family, and associates in an effort to build support for us. Everyone who knows us has become quite upset at how we’ve been treated and admits that no matter how badly we might have made a mistake in not seeing a doctor sooner, these actions did not justify removing Celeste from our lives when we were quite obviously willing to get the medical attention she needed and willing to see it through no matter how long it takes. Detective Witty still had not called back and Garth took it upon himself to call the Kirkland Lake Hospital to ask how Celeste was doing. Melissa and Ray listened to the conversation and immediately began to cry when Garth received the answer “we have no patients under that name.” At this point we had enough and Ray called the Detective to report that this is abduction. To have her in the hospitals care is one thing but to have her disappear without any information being given to the parents is ludicrous and absolutely devoid of any concern for Celeste. If actions speak louder than words then it can be easily said that none of the actions by those who claim authority have been out of concern for Celestes safety or wellbeing. From the moment we began to question the Law and attempt to follow that law in order to avoid conflict and a biased judgment we have been made out to be villains and evildoers. Actions do speak louder than words and it could easily be said that our endless determination, our refusal to quit no matter how many people refuse to answer us, our friends support of us, and our incredible concern for not only our daughters body but her mind as well is proof positive that we are very good parents who love our daughter very much. It is our hope that someone will simply step forward and answer our questions, if we’re wrong we will be happy to admit that and do as we are told. We’re not asking for anything except someone to either contest our claim as lawful or return our baby to us. At this point, we’d even be satisfied to receive a court ruling.

This will continue until Celeste is home. Everything we have stated in this document is true to the best of our knowledge and has been partially aided by video.

Sincerely out of love,

Ray and Melissa

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