Ontario parents advocating for 'Keira's Law' say it could have prevented alleged Sask. abduction case
CBC
A mother who is pushing for the passage of a bill to address intimate partner violence says Keira's Law could have prevented the alleged abduction of a Saskatchewan girl back in November.
Jennifer Kagan is the mother and Philip Viater is the stepfather of four-year-old Keira Kagan.
On Feb. 9, 2020, Keira was found dead with her father at the base of a cliff at Rattlesnake Point Conservation area in Milton, Ontario. Kagan and Viater believe it was a murder-suicide.
"She was a bright, lively, engaged child who would have had a very bright future had she not been failed by the family court system," said Kagan.
The bill they are advocating for, Bill C-233, would offer more education and training about domestic violence for judges.
"If a judge on her file had education and training in domestic violence, it would have made a considerable difference for Keira," said Kagan.
"We're hoping that it will make a considerable difference for others."
Kagan and Viater say Kiera's father's abusive behaviour was minimized by family courts.
"He kidnapped her on at least three occasions. He ran off with her in the face of court orders or parenting schedules in place," said Viater.
Viater said that even in the face of strong warnings that Keira's father's access would be curtailed, his behaviour continued until her death.
Kagan said Keira's Law would give judges in family courts the tools to recognize patterns of domestic violence and its impact on children.
"Right now, there is this bias [in family courts] toward pro-contact at all costs," says Viater.
"It takes one bad parent to destroy a child and a family, and courts don't seem to understand that."
Kagan and her husband, who is a lawyer specializing in family law, have pored over family court documents regarding a recent highly publicized abduction case in Saskatchewan, and they believe warning signs were missed in that case as well.
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