IT"S TIME FOR CHANGE

Hi there, my name is Karl and this is my story of discrimination, and why it's time for fair and equal rights for men.  I write this not from standing on a soap box, for I have made my mistakes in my life, most coming from struggling with my mental health.  Though I’ve had some hard times and done somethings I’m not proud in my past, the worst being a domestic assault from 2006, and a domestic mischief charge in 2014. Both involved infidelity but only one with alcohol, from those incidents I have sought out help to overcome the issues from which they stemmed from, and improved myself with the desire to be a better father and person.  I work fulltime often doing  10-30 hours of overtime to provide for my children and be a contributing member of society.  Though regardless of previous court decisions awarding me full custody of my children, it can still be stripped away with one phone call from their mother. 

I met the mother of my children in 2007 (27yrs old), we had our children in 2008 (f16) and in 2010 (m14) we got officially married on February 14, 2013. In the fall of 2013 my ex wife began to struggle with her mental health.  Throughout our marriage I have been a loving and supportive husband, carrying the extra burden of child raising with a struggling partner.  Often throughout our relationship she would overreact and kick me out with the threat of the cops and lies. Every time this happened she would want me back and I would forgive her because I love my kids and know the kind of environment the house would turn into with my ex wife’s mental health.  This came true finally when I had enough and the kids were old enough that I felt I could finally get some distance from my ex-wife in March of 2019. I left her and began to get my life back together but when my daughter was hospitalized for mental health which the doctors told me was related to living with her mother, I went to court to fight for custody of my children.  On the day of the court date she didn’t even bother to show up to court and I was awarded full custody of my children, with them being 14 and 12 they both desired to live with me.  Though I kept my distance from my ex, one has to be civil for the children, so I regularly brought her to our son’s football games and other normal family events so that my children could still have both parents in their lives. When I heard from my children that their mother was soon to be evicted for not paying rent, it began to weigh heavily on my children.  I made a decision that I now regret as I moved back in with her as a roommate to pay for the bills. This way they would not have to see their mother become homeless.  Though of course once my ex had dodged being evicted, she soon looked for a way to once again kick me out.  I was attempting to parent my m14 from having a 50% absence rate from school, by removing his Xbox from his room.  My ex saw this opportunity and called the police to have me removed, I remained calm as I had unfortunately anticipated this scenario. I later learned on November 18, 2024 from my daughter that she had filed a no notice restraining order, all based on getting my internet modem back claiming I broke and entered when in actuality it was my daughter who brought it out to me. Also there was no violence or aggression from me with body cam footage to prove it.   

I ask how is this fair to a man with full custody?  Could this even possibly happen if the genders were reversed?  I think we all know these answers, that is why I’m asking for your help to bring attention to this inequity.  It is time men fight for their rights to be treated as equal parents. 

I am pleading with everyone and anyone to please help me bring about change to the family law. It's time for politicians to help the average Canadian and our family dynamics rather than protecting the Family Law Industry. Please write/email my MPP offices of Brian Riddel or your own and ask them to take my complaint seriously and demand 50/50 rights. More emails the better! If you can please share to your social media as well.

MPP Brian Riddel
brianriddelpc.ola.org