To my right is the decision we received by the Family Court in Calgary, Alberta. This decision was read to us in open court on Feb. 9, 2001
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Page 2: The Decision
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At some point (probably about 1994) the Grandparents moved from Calgary to Sundre; the Child's visits continued in Sundre. Mother provided written consent for the Grandparents to obtain medical treatment for the Child, although this seems to have been related to a trip to the United States in the motor home owned by the Grandparents
The Grandmother testified that after Mother had left Father and begun living with Allan Radke, the Child would cry and not want to go home after visiting with his Grandparents. He would ask why he couldn't live with them and said his Mother and Allan were mean to him at home. He said that his Mother strapped him with a big white belt and that Allan threw him down the stairs and would throw him up against the wall and on the bed until his back would hurt. Grandmother noted braises on his arms, his neck, his back. She also said that if they moved to fast in the house, the Child would cringe and hide under a table and hold his hands over his head - when asked why he was behaving in this way, he replied that he didn't want anyone to hit him. In the summer of 1999, the Child received a puppy, but it was then taken away from him because he didn't care for it adequately; the Child would worry about this and say "Grandma, its not my fault. I couldn't take care of it." Grandmother though this was putting too much on the Child.
Grandmother spoke two or three times with a counselor in the Town of Sundre about her concerns over the treatment the Child was receiving at the hands of his Mother and Allan Radke. The counselor urged her to report these concerns to Child Welfare Services, but Grandmother declined on the basis that she didn't trust Child Welfare and also became she felt that access to the Child Would be cut off immediately if these concerns were reported. Instead, Grandmother called to request a luncheon meeting with Mother and briefly described her concerns, but the meeting was canceled and never re-scheduled.
The Grandparents last saw the Child at their home in November of 1999. They saw him again at the home of his Father, but access to the Father was terminated just prior to Christmas, 1999.
Grandmother tried to speak with Mother about re-instating access, but Mother would hang up the telephone. In February, 2000, Grandfather was seriously ill and a message was left with Mother requesting that the Child be allowed to visit his Grandfather at the hospital, but the call was never returned.
Grandmother says they while they had access to the Child they were never told that he was on Ritalin, that he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder or that he required a special diet. She denied observing the disorder in the behavior of the Child. She does not believe he required more punishment than time - outs and found he went to sleep easily when he
could listen to a story on a small cassette player. She also denied reporting Mother to Social Services or asking anyone to make such a report. She says she only learned about such an investigation after it had occurred but that she now understands that Mother is blaming the Grandparents. She acknowledged having received a copy of the investigation results, sent to her by Mother, absolving Mother and Allan Radke of any improper behavior with the Child. On cross-examination, when asked what assistance the Grandparents had ever given Mother so that she could become a nurse,