Council backs bill to help remove barriers to grandparents’ rights

Council backs bill to help remove barriers to grandparents’ rights - Niagara Advance - Ontario, CA

Penny Coles

Niagara Advance

MPP Kim Craitor has the backing of town councillors as he presses forward with his commitment to extend the rights of grandparents to maintain ties with the grandchildren.

Craitor first asked for support of his private member's bill in December, but Councillor Jamie King, fresh from a fall election that handed him his first term on council, had some hesitation about wading in on an issue that didn't seem to have much to do with municipal council. The request was deferred, and when it came back to NOTL councillors last week, King said he had talked to the MPP, had a better understanding of the issue and had no trouble supporting a bill that Craitor has been working on for four years.

Craitor explained that politicians are often asked to help a constituent, whether or not the problem falls within their jurisdiction,and King said he was grateful for the insight.

The bill asks that parents and others with custody of children be prevented from placing obstacles to relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren. It talks of the importance of maintaining emotional ties and the need to encourage contact whenever it's in the best interest of the child.

King says in addition to his reservation about a municipal representative weighing in on provincial issues, he was concerned that the bill might be an infringement of parents' rights.

But Craitor explained the bill was careful to ensure that a child's best interest would always come first—that a judge would not force a relationship with a grandparent if it were not in the best interest of the child.

King said he was also concerned with the process—that council was asked to support the bill without any time to look into the issue. He wanted time to do some research, and was grateful that he was afforded that opportunity.

"We should be able to take some time to examine something as important as this, before being asked for our support. It also gives the public a chance to contact us if they have some concerns," he said.

"But in this case, it had been brought forward as a resolution to be passed that evening. I wasn't comfortable with that."

Council voted unanimously last week to notify the province and the region that they support Craitor's bill, which has passed second reading in the legislature and is now the subject of further research.