Winnipeg girl in custody case may have lived in climate of hate: Psychologist
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 03:05PM Dose.ca Canada June 23, 2009
by Mike McIntyre
WINNIPEG - The day a young girl showed up at her Winnipeg elementary school with white-supremacist markings all over her body may have represented the "tip of the iceberg" of what was happening in her home, a psychologist testified Tuesday.
Dr. Dell Ducharme took the stand during an unusual and very controversial child-custody hearing, in which the Manitoba government is making a bid to gain permanent custody of two children from their mother and stepfather, both alleged white supremacists.
Ducharme told court he was very concerned about racist comments posted online by the girl's mother and stepfather, in which they graphically discuss their hatred of blacks, Jews and other minorities. The Internet chat-room discussions occurred before the girl and her younger brother were seized in March 2008 by Child and Family Services.
"It may have indicated a set style of beliefs that things may have been going on (in the home) for some time," said Ducharme.
CFS is seeking a permanent order of guardianship for the two children in a case that has made headlines around the world. The agency claims the parents' racist beliefs amount to emotional abuse and put the kids at risk.
The child-custody trial resumed Tuesday after a two-week break. For the first time, the children's mother was present. She had been in Quebec when the trial began and claimed financial problems kept her from returning to Winnipeg. The woman does not have a lawyer, but is allowed to sit at counsel table with her estranged husband and his lawyer and ask questions in cross-examination.
Ducharme was tasked with doing a "parental capacity assessment," and spent hours interviewing the parents, children and several others with connections to the family. His testimony is expected to stretch into Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the girl's former teacher took the witness stand to describe a disturbing meeting she had with the mother in November 2007.
The teacher said the woman showed up 45 minutes late for a parent-teacher conference, her breath smelling of alcohol.
"She said, 'Sorry I'm late, I stopped for a beer,' " said the teacher. Her seven-year-old daughter was with her at the time.
The teacher said their 20-minute meeting went poorly, with the mother taking no interest in her child's performance in school.
"Mom was more keen on talking about herself, how she did in high school . . . her academic talents," she said.
In cross-examination, the teacher admitted the girl was a bright student who got along well with her classmates - at least half of whom belong to visible minorities. She said she showed no racism toward them.
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