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Crown Wards taken from Obese Father
June 21, 2012 permalink
The children of an obese father will be placed for adoption following a court decision Wednesday. The CBC reporter does not use the words, but his children must now be crown wards. The father has identified himself on Facebook as Mark MacDiarmid. According to the press, he will be starting a hunger strike.
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Obese man's sons being put up for adoption
Man plans hunger strike at Parliament Hill to protest court's ruling
Two young sons of an obese Ottawa man are being put up for adoption after a Wednesday court ruling.CBCTwo sons of an obese Ottawa father who lost supervised visits in a court decision Wednesday will be put up for adoption.
The man and his children cannot be named due to provisions of the Child and Family Services Act.
He admits to smoking marijuana habitually and to sometimes becoming violent in the past, but never with his children, who have special needs.
He said he's gone through counselling and anger management, and that he'll continue to push for the right to see his children.
Man plans hunger strike on Friday at Parliament Hill
The man said by phone Wednesday night that the judge brought up his weight during the ruling, as well as his hatred for women, which the man denies.
He said the judge said it would be a full-time job to lose weight, and another full-time job to care for the two active boys.
He said the ruling also prohibits him from contacting any Children's Aid Society workers for the next two years.
The man said he plans to start a hunger strike on Friday and create a website about his struggles.
"I'm going on a hunger strike to bring attention to not just my situation, but definitely my situation is paramount," he said. "My children need to know the lengths which I am willing to go to at least have a chance at raising them, and I'm going to go for as long as I possibly can. And while I'm on the Hill I'm going to let people know what the situation really is.
"I am absolutely blown away by this decision, and I will not stand for it," he said.
He once weighed 525 pounds and is now 355 pounds, he said.
"I was fighting for a single chance at custody," he said. "I have never been given a chance."
Source: CBC
Addendum: First day of hunger strike.
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Obese father goes to Parliament Hill to protest loss of his kids
An Ottawa father whose obesity was a factor in a recent ruling to take away custody of his children held a one-day hunger strike on Parliament Hill Friday.OTTAWA — An Ottawa father whose obesity was a factor in a recent ruling to take away custody of his children held a one-day hunger strike on Parliament Hill Friday.
“I’m absolutely disgusted at the system where they can use lies and discrimination to take away my children” said the 38-year-old man, who must remain unnamed under the Child and Family Services Act.
The man’s four- and six-year-old sons will be put up for adoption after a judge’s ruling Wednesday which noted that the father, who at one point weighed 525 pounds, may have trouble maintaining his weight-loss efforts while taking care of his children, who both have special needs. The ruling also noted that while the man has never been abusive towards the children, he has a history of “angry outbursts” against Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa workers. He formerly ran a marijuana grow-op as well as a lucrative computer business.
In response to the ruling, the Ottawa father set up a beige armchair near the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill Friday, where he sat in an armchair while holding up a sign that read, “I WANT MY SONS.” He believes the ruling was biased, and said that he has not used marijuana since 2009, has been working on leading a healthy lifestyle and is not an aggressive man.
The man claimed to have not eaten anything all day on Friday. He had planned to continue the hunger strike on the Hill until July 2, but when RCMP officers told him he had to leave the property each night by 9 p.m., he reconsidered his method of protest.
“I’ll be finishing today ... It’ll be a hunger strike until nine o’clock, which isn’t really much of a hunger strike,” he admits.
Starting Saturday, the man said he will focus on his improving health to prove he can take care of himself and his boys, while doing everything he can to appeal the ruling.
“Over the next 30 days, instead of hurting myself with a hunger strike I’m going to do my darndest to lose as much weight as I possibly can,” said the man, who currently weighs 380 pounds.
The father said he will release a rebuttal to the judge’s decision soon, at which point he hopes his story “goes global.”
Some international media outlets, including the UK-based Daily Mail, have already picked up the father’s story since the Citizen originally reported on the case.
As the sun set on the Hill Friday evening, the man admitted the day had been an emotional one. Fighting back tears, he said his concern for his sons is what keeps him going.
“As bad as I’m feeling, it can’t compare to how my children feel,” he said through tears. “I am worried about my kids, how they feel, how they are perceived.”
Source: Ottawa Citizen
Addendum: Six months later father Mark MacDiarmid tells a lot more about how his family came to be broken up.
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Mark MacDiarmid
6 Months ago today Justice James made my 2 sons Crown wards for the purpose of adoption. But that's not all... He also ordered that they be separated from each other with no access to their biological parents.
I will not accept this. I tried to appeal but the Lawyer who was to do the appeal quit a few days before the deadline. As of today I can apply for a "Status Review Application". In fact it would have been filed today but I needed to make a formal complaint to the Child Family Services review board before I brought my case before the courts. The CFSRB can't hear any complaints involving cases before the court.
The following was my letter to the CFSRB
December, 20, 2012
Dear CFSRB,
I am writing this letter to make a formal complaint against the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa. I have already placed a complaint with the CAS manager. And nothing was done to resolve my issues.
In September of 2009 I judge ordered that both of the children in CAS custody be reintegrated back into the family home this was biased on a 6 month Family Court Clinic report. All the conditions were met for the reintegration and in the final stages of the reintegration in late October of 2009. It was at this time I was told by the CAS that the reintegration would be halted until I left the home AND I was told that if I didn't leave the home right away that CAS would apply to the court to make my children crown wards. Both of my children were placed in the mothers custody as well has her own son. This was not what the court ordered. As a matter of fact none of the courts orders on September 16 were completed. Such as unannounced home access visits, and we were not even given a chance to go for marriage counseling. (I called the a local resource center for marriage counseling on September 16 the day of the order, the first appointment was to be on November 4, 2009) The mother and I are divorced now.
8 months later the family home burned down. The mother was the only suspect in the fire, she was the only person in the basement where the fire started; she was in the basement for 15 minutes while the fire alarm was going off. I told the CAS what occurred during the fire and the child protection worker ignored the information I gave her and let the mother continue to have custody. I contacted the police and went in for an interview. The officer in charge of the investigation had several other witnesses that he could have interviewed but decided not to after speaking with the child protection worker. The child protection worker had spoken to the investigator on several occasions. The mother was not charged with arson and attempted murder of 6 people. It would look bad for the CAS if the mother was charged for arson after CAS gave her custody. On a side note the mother took 100% of the insurance money.
And just over a month after that my youngest son (aged 2 at the time) was caught running down a major street in Ottawa. After which both of my children were taken into CAS custody. I was told I would never be given a single chance to raise my children.
After the children were taken back into CAS custody, a judge ruled that “the fathers access should increased” but my access was systematically reduced 95% and then completely taken away biased on lies given by the child protection worker to a doctor who admitted on the stand in trial that he was “biased” toward the CAS. And that the doctor took what the CAS told him at “face value”
The worker told the Dr. that the mother and I were in a romantic relationship in the fall of 2010. To be clear in the fall of 2010 I was suing the mother in small claims court for part of the insurance settlement, I started divorce proceedings on November 4. 2009, I was fighting for sole custody of my two sons in family court and trying to have her charged with arson for the fire that burned down almost everything I owned. If that is what CAS describes as a “romantic relationship” I am surprised anyone has their children.
They were made crown wards in June of 2012 biased on lies given to the court. On a side note I am seeking perjury charges against several individuals for the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa.
Signed,
Mark MacDiarmid
This is only the start. I will no longer stay quiet. lots of news coming... stay tuned.
Source: Facebook, Protecting Canadian Children
