The New
Justice League Takes Canada by Storm
story by Staci Rae
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F4J members believe that it is only through non-violent direct action that they can inject justice and equality into the family law system in their respective countries. Theyve tried writing letters and visiting the offices of their Members of Parliament with no results. Theyve even gone to court to further their cause, only to be met by deaf ears and slammed doors.
The next step was to resort to civil disobedience. Thus was born the new Justice League and their campaign to make the Canadian justice system turn their heads and take notice of what F4J says is an unfair system of family law in this and other countries.
Throughout May, the Members of Fathers for Justice initiated an active campaign to grab the attention of lawmakers throughout Canada, some of which have landed them inside Canadian courtrooms, albeit for the wrong reasons. During the week of May 16, members of the organization from across the country released thousands of crickets yes, 6880 real, live, crickets into courtrooms, M.P.s offices, and into the offices of divorce industry professionals such as lawyers, paralegals, etc. To ensure their efforts did not go without proper credit, a brightly coloured sticker bearing the image of Jiminy Cricket and the words The Great Canadian Cricket Caper was left at each of the drop sites. The point? The crickets (with the characteristic chirping noise) were used as a means to symbolize the voices that the Canadian court system does not want to hear the voice of fathers who want nothing more than to be a part of their childrens lives.
Why the costumes? The choice to take on their superhero alter egos pays homage to the comic book characters of the Justice League of America who fought against injustices in the world, just as the F4J members fight for the rights of childless fathers everywhere. In another way, the costumes are a representation of the childs view that his or her father is their hero. Surely, according to the members of the pressure group, a child deserves to have their hero in their life.
Other escapades masterminded by the group have included the scaling of some scaffolding outside Torontos Old City Hall, by none other than Superman (who is actually Brad Mastin, father of one), while his cohorts, Wonder Woman and Batman stood watch.
Since the Special Joint Committee on Custody and Access recommended radical change to Canadas Divorce Act, a string of federal Ministers of Justice have refused to follow the recommendations raised in For the Sake of the Children (part of a report of the Special Joint Committee, presented to the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Family Law Committee). Instead, they drafted a series of proposed amendments to the Divorce Act that were completely at odds with the findings of the committee. The results of the focus groups and narrow consultations on which the proposed amendments were based, all of which were sponsored by the federal Department of Justice, then formed the basis for legislative change. According to Fathers 4 Justice, what was meant to be an open, transparent public consultation (the Special Joint Committee) ended up being a carefully guided and secretive process that could produce no other findings than it did, making a mockery of the parliamentary process in Canada.
Fathers 4 Justice currently has members in five countries: UK, US, Canada, Holland, and Australia. The group was first started in the UK three years ago. Visit them on their Web site, www.fathers-4-justice.ca.