Canada Family Law v. Gitxsan

What would you do if your daughter’s boyfriend took your grandchild, the one you have court-ordered guardianship over? Imagine that child being alienated, lost in a world where no amount of reasoning or court process could bring them back to their biological family.  

With the new Family Law Act, the biological family seems to have no rights. A stepfather can take a child and cut them off from their true family, claiming parentage without any bloodline connection. This is the reality we face. The abductor, the one the child has come to know as a parent, suddenly holds all the rights, while we, the biological family, are left powerless.  

From what I've seen in courtrooms in Vancouver and Terrace, this practice is rampant, even if the definition of 'parent' doesn’t align with what we know to be true. It’s happening now, and it feels like a storm is brewing.  

Even when I’ve had a lawyer, my arguments—backed by evidence—have not been enough to regain custody. Without privilege, it’s a struggle to afford the travel costs for regular parenting time between Prince Rupert and Terrace from Vancouver. I can only manage one visit a year, sometimes so short that it feels like a whisper in time.  

In the past eight years, I’ve only brought my granddaughter’s mother to Terrace for a visit once. For the last two years, I’ve fought in court for summer parenting time with my granddaughter. The first time, I was ordered to share costs; the second time, I was told to pay everything.  

My family court hearing is coming up on March 30 and 31 in Terrace, where the file was transferred by his lawyer. I stand here without a lawyer, just a single parent with my grandson, fighting for his sister.  

A lawyer once told me I would lose because of the new Family Law Act. The step-parent, who isn’t biologically related, has kept my granddaughter away from her family in Vancouver and Hazelton, and now they hold parenting rights.  

I pray for our Gitxsan children and grandchildren, for this could mean another great loss to our traditional community. This situation disregards our Traditional Laws of Matriarch, and it’s a call to action for all of us.  

I urge you to educate yourself on these issues. Don’t let this happen to you and your family. We must come together to protect our children, to stand strong against a system that seeks to divide us. The time to act is now; let’s change the narrative for the sake of our future generations.

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