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Speak No Evil

March 15, 2009 permalink

Children's aid says, in their own words, that warning others about the unfairness of CAS and family courts is a form of wrongdoing. Have they heard of free speech? The magna carta?

The most damning statements about children's aid come not from journalists and critics, but from their own mouth. We encourage others to forward oppressive or ridiculous CAS statements to Dufferin VOCA.

Below is an affidavit, verbatim except for the caption, sent by Chris Carter. The conclusion regarding free speech remains true even if, as Mr Carter says, there are many errors of fact in the document.

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MARCH 11, 2009

AFFIDAVIT OF THE CHILDREN’S AID SOCIETY OF THE REGIONAL MUNICIAPALITY OF WATERLOO’S CHILD PROTECTION SUPERVISOR CHRIS LESLIE

My name is (full legal name) Chris Leslie

I work in (municipality & province) Cambridge, Ontario

and I swear and affirm that the following is true: Set out the statements of fact in consecutively numbered paragraphs. Where possible, each numbered paragraph should consist of one complete sentence and be limited to a particular statement of fact. If you learned a fact from someone else, you must give that person’s name and state that you believe that fact to be true.

  1. I, Chris Leslie, am a Child Protection Supervisor for the Children’s Aid Society of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. As such I have personal knowledge of the matters hereinafter set forth.
  2. On the morning of March 4, 2009 I attended the Cambridge Court House on a scheduled Society List day to sit in on a Society matter. During the time preceding my appearance in court, I sat in the waiting room of the Courthouse. While waiting I observed Mr. Chris Carter attend the waiting area, as I have observed on some previous Society Court dates. As on previous occasions, Mr. Carter appeared to be in attendance when he did not have a matter involving himself on the docket.
  3. I am informed by my co-workers at the Society, and believe, that Mr. Carter has been in frequent attendance in the Cambridge Family Court waiting area during Society List days since the fall of 2008, although he noticeably did not attend at the Courthouse for several weeks earlier this year. It is my understanding that he frequents the Family Court waiting area even though he does not have personal involvement in any matter on that day’s docket.
  4. On March 4, 2009, as I had personally observed on previous occasions, Mr. Carter began to circulate through the court waiting area, stopping and addressing other individuals who were in attendance and waiting for their respective scheduled court appearances. I am not aware that any of these individuals were previously known to Mr. Carter (on a previous occasion, Mr. Carter had approached me, in the apparent belief that I was a litigant with the Society as I was reading Court documents, and asked me if I needed help).
  5. I observed and heard Mr. Carter commenting to persons waiting outside Court that they should obtain copies of the Child and Family Services Act, as this will demonstrate to them that the Society does not act in accordance with this legislation. I also observed Mr. Carter carrying a tape recorder and encouraging persons waiting outside Court that they should record their proceedings, and suggesting to individuals that court transcripts can also be requested.
  6. By this point Mr. Carter had circulated to the far end of the waiting area, away from the Courthouse. He then appeared to generally address the room, because his statements did not appear to be directed to anyone in particular and were clearly audible over the conversation of everyone else in attendance. I was located as far away as was possible from Mr. Carter (being seated near the Courtroom doors) and could clearly hear everything he said. Mr. Carter began to speak about Justice Hardman, who happened to be presiding that day. During his description of Justice Hardman, Mr. Carter became escalated by his increasingly loud voice. The substance of his public announcement on this occasion was to the effect that Justice Hardman does not decide cases fairly and does not act appropriately in her capacity as a Judge of the Ontario Court of Justice. At this point, I observed a Waterloo Regional Police Officer exit the Courtroom and approach Mr. Carter, and escort him out of the waiting area.
  7. This was not the first time I have observed Mr. Carter make disparaging statements regarding Judges of the Ontario Court of Justice to parties waiting to be heard in Cambridge Family Court on Society List days. On other occasions I have observed Mr. Carter inform waiting individuals-each of whom were involved in cases before the Court involving the Society-that one of the Judges who usually presides during Society matters in Cambridge has never decided a case against the Society.
  8. I subsequently observed Mr. Carter return to the court waiting room. Mr. Carter continued to approach and speak with others. As my attention was turned to other matters, I did not hear much of what Mr. Carter was saying, but did notice when he began talking about Society Child Protection Supervisor Bill Shin, prefacing what he was saying by commenting "I’m not a racist" but then going on to discuss how Mr. Shin is Korean, and discussing how the Society has someone making decisions about the children of Cambridge who does not come from here.
  9. I approached a Waterloo Regional Police officer who was standing nearby in the passage hall between the waiting room and the court room and pointed out that Mr. Carter appeared to be making disparaging remarks of a racial nature about Society personnel. When I returned to the waiting area I observed that Mr. Carter no longer appeared to be present.

/signed/
Chris Leslie
dated March 11, 2009

"ANGELA LYNN SZABATIN, a Commissioner for taking Oaths and Affidavits in and for the PROVINCE OF ONTARIO while in the employ of a Children’s Aid Society approved under The Child and Family Services Act, and for work in connection with this Society only. EXPIRY DATE: December 17, 2011"

Source: email from Chris Carter

speak no evil

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