What are some examples of alienating behaviours?

Alienation is carried out in numerous different ways, such as:

1. The alienating parent creates lies about the other parent.
2. The alienating parent does not let the child see the other parent.
3. The alienating parent criticizes and speaks poorly of the other parent.
4. The alienating parent plants fear in the child(ren) by making up stories of abuse by the other parent.
5. The alienating parent withholds communication (phone calls, texting) between the child(ren) and the other parent. 

How does federal legislation and case law address parental alienation?

In regards to federal legislation, section 16(6) of the Divorce Act says that when assigning time between parents, the child(ren) should spend as much time with each parent as needed, according to the child(ren)’s best interests. Furthermore, section 16(3) of the Divorce Act presents numerous different factors must be taken into consideration when determining the child(ren)’s best interests; the factor that most strongly corresponds to parental alienation syndrome is each parent’s support of the other parent’s relationship with the child(ren), specifically, their support in helping the other parent’s relationship grow and be maintained. 

Regarding case law, a well-known case is Bruni v. Bruni. This was a case that took place in Ontario in 2010, where a mother, after separating from her husband, alienated their daughter from him so strongly that her punishment was to have her monthly spousal support reduced to $1.00 monthly; this is an example of how seriously parental alienation is taken. Additionally, The Supreme Court recognizes the impact of alienation on a child psychologically, stating in the 1996 Supreme Court decision Gordon v. Goertz that, “The importance of preserving the child’s relationship with his or her psychological parent has long been recognized by this Court … There is a growing body of evidence that this relationship may well be the most determinative factor on the child’s long-term welfare.” 

What is the fundamental principle in separation and divorce regarding the children?

It is important to remember that, no matter what, every effort should be made to keep children out of their parent’s conflict; being involved in the conflict can lead to issues such as stress, anger, and distress for the child. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to emotionally recover from this, which can lead to issues even after they become an adult. It is important to pay attention to your child(ren)’s behaviour and look for signs of them being alienated. 

Signs of parental alienation will look different for each child, but may present themselves as: 

1. Ceasing contact with one of the parents for no obvious reason
2. Acting-out
3. Dreading spending time with one of the parents
4. Exhibiting abnormal behaviours
5. Keeping secrets

When you recognize these behaviours, you can begin taking steps to handle it, such as documenting things relevant to the alienation. 

Cases in Ontario dealing with parental alienation. 

To familiarize yourself with the way the courts in Ontario deal with parental alienation, listed below are some cases that involve alienation, along with a short summary regarding said alienation.

1. Orsak v Orsak, Ontario Superior Court of Justice Docket: 97-FP-234664. 2000 CarswellOnt 1574. May 5, 2000.

https://canadiancrc.com/PDFs/Parental_Alienation_Orsak_v_Orsak_Ontario_Superior_2000.pdf

In this case, the mother had primary care of their two children after her separation from their father, specifically de facto custody. In Ontario, de facto custody describes whichever parent has custody, and the other parent has access to the child(ren), unless an agreement or order declares otherwise. She claimed that the father was unreliable when it came to visits which made the children sometimes not want to visit him. The father claimed that sometimes he travelled for visits and did not know the kids were not coming until he arrived, among other issues; he thought the mother wanted to punish him for terminating the marriage. In the end, it was said that if the mother did not try to facilitate and support a relationship between the children and father, then “her role as custodial parent, may no longer be justified as being in the best interests of the children.”

2. S.P. and P.B.D., Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Court File No. 22661. August 10, 2007.

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2007/2007canlii31787/2007canlii31787.html

In this case, after divorce both the mother and the father were given joint custody of their two children, with primary care being given to the mother. The father claimed that he was being denied access from the mother, not only from visits but also from speaking to them on the phone. It was accepted that parental alienation occurred, specifically because the mother had externalized her own beliefs about the father onto the children. The father was granted temporary primary care of the children in an attempt to facilitate a relationship between him and the children. 

3. Rogerson v. Tessaro, Court of Appeal for Ontario, Docket: C44199, May 9, 2006. 

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2006/2006canlii15126/2006canlii15126.htmlAnother Ontario case involving parental alienation is that of Rogerson v. Tessaro. The mother alienated the children from their father in numerous different ways, such as moving to a different town with the children right before a trial, even going so far as to say that, “if the father moved to her new town, she would move again.” This case was an appeal to a past court decision where custody was given to the father. The appeal was dismissed due to the fact that custody was given to the father in the first place because the mother showed no effort in supporting the children’s relationship with him. On the other hand, the father demonstrated that he knew how important a relationship was between the mother and the children.

How do the courts deal with PAS? 

Each case of parental alienation will have a different level of severity, and therefore needs a solution specific to the situation; this of course depends on the best interests of the child(ren). 

The court handles parental alienation in several different ways, such as:

1. Sending the parents to parenting classes.
2. Having the child(ren) participate with the parents in therapy.
3. Reverse parenting, which is changing custody of the child(ren) to the alienated parent in extreme cases.
4. Ordering more visits and/or phone calls between the alienated parent and children.
5. Reducing spousal support for the alienating parent. 
6. Putting court costs to alienating parent

As you can see, the courts take parental alienation seriously, and have many ways to address it. That being said, court costs act as a deterrent for bringing the issue of parental alienation forward. 

Can custody orders be modified due to parental alienation?

Custody orders can be modified due to parental alienation if the child has been affected where they need therapy or counselling. 

How can PAS affect child support obligations? 

A parent’s child support obligations may change when they are alienated from their adult child? If, due to parental alienation syndrome, the child has no relationship with the parent, should they still be expected to pay child support? While each situation is different, child support will generally be upheld if the breakdown of the relationship was due to the behaviour of the parent(s); if the lack of relationship is solely the choice of the adult child, it changes things; the ending of child support could be considered. 

There is a case from 2018 that covers this issue. Nafar-Ross v. Raahemi deals with a couple with two children; the case focuses specifically on the daughter, who was a minor when the divorce took place. Contact was quite consistent between her and her father until a few years later when she ceased contact with him. The father said that this breakdown in the relationship was due to the mother’s alienation efforts, and, when the daughter became an adult, he decided he wanted to stop child support. Since there was evidence that the daughter had not pulled away from the relationship fully on her own accord, with other factors considered as well (university enrollment, etc), child support was to be continued. This case mentions that “most court decisions have held that an adult child terminating his or her relationship, standing alone, is rarely sufficient (unless this is clearly unilateral and without any apparent reason).” This means that unless the relationship between the parent and the child was ended solely by the child and without any reason, there will likely not be a case for ending child support based on parental alienation.