B.C. judge bars mother from seeing daughter

Court orders one-year ban after 'unfounded' abuse allegations made about teenager's father

THE CANADIAN PRESS, March 10, 2009

VANCOUVER - In a case of extreme parental alienation, a mother has been banned by a B.C. Supreme Court judge from seeing her teenage daughter for more than a year.

Because of the urgency of the matter, Justice Donna Martinson issued the terse, two-page ruling outlining 15 conditions the parents must follow, including that the mother, known only as Ms. A, not see her daughter until at least March 31, 2010.

The decision came after the mother alleged extreme emotional abuse by the father, which she claimed was putting the teenager's safety at risk.

"I am satisfied that Ms. A's allegations are unfounded," Martinson wrote.

"I am further satisfied that she has continued to undermine the relationship between M and her father and has acted in ways that are detrimental to M's psychological healing."

Names have been stripped from the court ruling to protect the girl's identity.

The judge has ordered that both the mother and maternal grandmother have no contact with the girl, which would be enforced by police if necessary.

The court has also ordered the mother to pay $320 per month for the girl's counselling, on top of the child support she is already paying.

Jessica Ko, the lawyer for the girl's father, said it's been a gruelling road for the father who has been in court 17 different times to gain access to his daughter or defend himself against the mother's allegations.

"It went to the point where our client was essentially bankrupt from defending himself and pursuing this legal matter," said Ko.

She said the father is in a highly respected profession and should be able to recover financially.

Ko said the ruling banning the mother from any contact with the child was extremely unusual, because often the court attempts to find a balance in access between the parents.

"This is a case where there was found to be an extreme example of parental alienation by the mother towards the father."