Discrimination in the Canadian Courts: The true story of a Muslim father fighting for his children

By Ali Pey

Ali Pey came to Canada from Iran as an experienced engineer in 2000, and he’s since worked hard to build a successful career and rise his two daughters. Like many other immigrants, he proudly became a Canadian citizen and assumed that he would be treated fairly and equitably in an unbiased legal system. Imagine his shock when, during divorce proceedings with his white ex-wife, he faced intense discrimination and prejudice by multiple judges, police officers, case workers, a court-appointed psychologist, and even his own doctor. Despite his competent and gentle manner, particularly with his young daughters, he was painted as physically abusive and emotionally unstable, and his time with his children was severely reduced while he was made to be the only working and supporting parent. This book is a true story and a collection of indisputable and well-documented facts. In this heart-wrenching account, readers are invited on a journey into the underbelly of the Canadian legal system.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ali Pey
• Release date: May 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781773028804

Book preview

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Discrimination

in the

Canadian Courts

The true story of a Muslim father

fighting for his children

Ali Pey

I am not this hair,

I am not this skin,

I am the soul that lives within.

—Rumi

To my two beautiful amazing daughters,

who are my passion and my life.

I owe you this book.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Becoming a Father

Chapter 2

The Story of My Quran

Chapter 3

Separation and Litigation

Chapter 4

Is a Judge Allowed to Lie?

Chapter 5

Is a Judge above the Law?

Chapter 6

The Psychologist’s Assessment

Chapter 7

Bruises on Ariana’s Arm

Chapter 8

Children’s Aid Society and The Police

Chapter 9

The Family Doctor

Chapter 10

Why the Trial Judge Needed to Lie… and What Happened Next

Chapter 11

I Am a Good Father

Chapter 12

History of Racism and Discrimination

Chapter 13

What Can You Do? Be a Voice

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Like so many other Canadians, I am an immigrant and a proud Canadian citizen. I came to Canada as an experienced engineer in May 2000 and started working in that field shortly after I arrived in Toronto. I’ve worked for various high-tech companies since, and have always been an exceptional employee, receiving stellar performance reviews. Aside from two speeding tickets, I’ve never been in any trouble and I have always endeavoured to be a valuable member of society. However, when I asked Canada to protect the close parental relationship I had with my daughters, my children and I were betrayed. We were betrayed through lies and false statements made by judges, custody assessors and police officers, and through the illegal actions of high-ranking officials and professionals. My children were made to feel guilty for loving their father. They were essentially shown that they are not allowed to bond with their father, or to learn his language, or even understand his culture, background, religion or heritage. I was given the message that I was not allowed to be a part of my children’s lives.

This is the story of my experience of racial prejudice and discrimination in the Canadian legal system. The hardest thing I have ever experienced in my life has been watching my two young children suffer through an antagonistic divorce while I was separated from them and powerless to help them cope. My daughters experienced discrimination in the Canadian court system because they love a father who is a Muslim from Iran. Although I never stopped fighting for them, I was not able to protect my daughters from the devastating pain of being separated from me, despite our close relationship prior to the divorce. I made them both a promise, though. I promised them that I would never stop fighting, and that I would not let their pain be in vain. I promised them that I would not let our suffering and story be silenced and that I would do everything in my power to showcase the devastating and hurtful effects of discrimination that destroys lives and generations.

I decided to write this book because I knew that if I didn’t share the story of my children, I would be partly responsible for the pain and suffering of future victims of discrimination in the legal system. And my message in this book is just that: to encourage each of you to use what power and privilege you have to speak out, and take action against discrimination and racism.

This book is a story as well as a collection of well-documented facts and actions that show a clear pattern within the Canadian legal system. I rely on my experiences to reveal this pattern and to present my points. I have tried to show the methods and tools that are used for discrimination, and how these actions leave people with very little resources or will to defend themselves, as well as how children can become victims of prejudice and discrimination in Canadian society. Even though I don’t believe that anyone would dispute that there is racism and discrimination in North America, I want to show how pervasive it, in fact, is.

Paige and me

March 2012

Ariana and me

May 2010

I have tried to keep the book as short as possible and have only presented a summary of what my children and I have experienced.

In this book, I will present indisputable and well-documented facts that prove that various professionals and officials invented and created false statements and that they have often broken the law. At times, the false statements and misrepresentations by different forces are too similar— as if these officials were following the same discriminatory guidelines.

I will show how the creation and invention of these false statements and misrepresentations indicate intention and the fact that the authors had to think and plan to invent and create the false facts.

I will show how false facts and fabrications have been employed by various professionals to paint me as an abusive and horrible person in order to justify their own discriminatory actions and orders. I will then argue that they must have had their reasons and that my children and I deserve to learn the truth behind these actions and orders that have been both abusive and extremely damaging to us. There are numerous studies and research that have been done that examine the long-term and painful damages that my children are now going to suffer.

It has been excruciating to review and write about the pain I have experienced; however, I have tried to separate my emotions from the events described in the book and focus only on the facts and the message I wish to share. This book is not for revenge, nor is it written out of anger. This is what I owe my children and all other silent victims of the past and the future. I owe this to numerous people who have touched my life and I owe this to all the people that this book might help. I owe this book to my parents, who were denied the opportunity to bond with their grandchildren. I owe this book to ordinary people who are subjected to prejudice and discrimination and who are powerless and defenseless in the face of that discrimination. This is an attempt to bring a voice to their pain and suffering.

All the names of the characters in this book have been changed, but they represent actual people. The dates and quotes are accurate. I do believe that all the people who have hurt my children and I deserve, and should face, justice; however, I have decided to use pseudonyms because I don’t believe that a book should, or can, be a public trial for particular people. I don’t believe that the racial prejudice and discrimination I experienced is limited only to the people I came across in my particular story. In fact, I believe discrimination is far deeper in the system than what many people might think.

What I wish to achieve from this book is first to show my two daughters that it’s ok for them to love their father and that they don’t need to feel ashamed or embarrassed. To let them know that their father loves them very much and that they have a good father. To tell them that they deserve to have a father in their lives and that they should also be connected to their father’s heritage and family.

The second purpose of this book is to raise awareness and to bring people together to fight prejudice, racism, and discrimination in the legal system. To find others who also have a story to tell and also to listen. To convince you and all other Canadians that you should also care about, and take action on, this issue to prevent others and their children from becoming future silent victims.

For that purpose, I have created a group called United Against Discrimination. You can find more information at www.UnitedAgainstDiscrimination.ca. With your help, future generations can live in a better world – no one should suffer because of the colour of their skin or their religion.

To help better explain the timeline of my story, the following are the important events and their dates: my ex-wife, Emily, and I met in early 2008 and started dating in the spring of 2008. In early May 2009, Emily became pregnant and then we got engaged on August 15, 2009. We got married on September 26, 2009. Our first daughter, Ariana, was born in February 2010 and our second daughter, Paige, was born in May 2011.

We started discussing separation in spring 2012 and finally separated on October 16, 2012. Emily had been laid off from her employment on May 6, 2012, only a few months before our separation, right after her maternity leave ended. We negotiated our custody arrangements and reached a 50-50 custody and access agreement, but Emily reneged on our agreement on December 17, 2012. Her lawyer started litigation in February 2013. We continued living together in the matrimonial home until May 1, 2013, on which date I moved out from the matrimonial home, a few days after we attended our first motion, which was on April 26, 2013. Based on the judge’s order, I was to have the children every weekend, from Friday 10am to Sunday 4pm.

In spring 2014, we started a custody assessment with a psychologist that lasted for about 10 months. The assessor recommended that my time with the children be reduced significantly. In September, 2015, we reached a settlement agreement with regards to Custody and Access and that turned into a final order. In January, 2016, we attended trial for financial matters. The litigation process is still ongoing.

Chapter 1

Becoming a Father

Most parents will tell you that their children are the most valuable things in their lives, that you love them more than anything else, from the bottom of your heart, and that being a