ECMAS SUPPORT GROUP
Where so ever two or three should gather,
There also support shall be”
[This letter is an OCR'd
version of one that was sent, as indicated, to the head of CanWest Global.]
James Haiden
6511-93 Street
Can-West Global Communications
December 16, 2002
Dear Mr. Asper,
This letter is to say that I am the Director of the ECMAS Support group
and have been the usual Chairman of the meetings since the group began
operation in the early spring of
1999. The group continues to meet in the usual manner and there is no
intention, of my own or of the parent group The Equitable Child Maintenance and
Access Society that we will or should discontinue.
I have read the article that was published by the National Post in
April of 2001 and was appalled at some of the things that were written. Sir, I
write this letter to you so that you may have a better understanding of the
events that did take place and remind you, that as the Director of the Support
Group and the usual Chair, it is I who has the greatest understanding of these
events.
Professor Christensen has attended all but one of the meetings that
have occurred since the group began operation and has never once voiced his
published views regarding childhood sexuality. Dr. Christensen has always given meaningful contributions in
regards to the particular person and problem at hand. This is to say that his
contributions have always been based on the mandate of the group, which is to
help non-custodial parents deal with the issues of loss of children and
punitive maintenance awards. His interest in the group concerns the lack of
equality that non-custodial parents receive from the Family Law Judiciary and
related agencies.
Among the numerous distortions that occur in this article, one stands
out as particularly grievous and is a serious abrogation to the good work that
we do. The parent group, as well as the support group is a not for profit
society and there is no vested interest in those of us who conduct the meetings
to use our positions for personal gain. It is apparent to me, as I read the
article that Ms. Laframboise insinuates that Dr. Christensen works in tandem with [Tim] Adams
in a concerted effort to extract financial gain from those who attend the
meetings. Indeed, she states that Dr. Christensen deliberately asks attendees
questions regarding their financial status as well as give forceful
recommendations that attendees drop their current Counsel in favour of Mr.
Adams. I have never observed Dr. Christensen ask any one at any time
information regarding their financial status. [Back]
ECMAS SUPPORT
GROUP
Where so ever two or three should gather,
There also support shall be”
Nor have I
ever heard Dr. Christensen, or has anyone ever told me,
that he advises others to fire their lawyer and hire Mr. Adams. What we do at
the group is advise those asking for help that “if they cannot afford a lawyer,
the worst thing they can do is nothing at all.” We would also advise those who
feel that the challenge of writing and filing legal documents is something they
cannot do to “hire a paralegal to do those things for you.” When these
circumstances arose, I could, in good faith, recommend [Tim] Adams for the job,
as did others who knew Mr. Adams. So it was not just Dr. Christensen who
has made those statements and it was not
only [Tim] Adams that Dr. Christensen and myself and others were able to
recommend. Indeed, one of [Tim] Adams unofficial duties was to keep track of the
known lawyers and their abilities. [Tim] himself would refer persons to good
lawyers, as did Dr. Christensen and myself and others at the meetings, once we
knew of them.[This is from the leader of the
support group, the person knowing my actions best. Yet as will be seen later,
the reporter deliberately avoided contacting him to inquire about my actions.] [Back]
Another issue
distorted by Ms. Laframboise’ article was Dr.
Christensen’s opposition to starting another support group on a second night of
the week. The background is that too many people began coming to the meetings
and I was less able to give each person due consideration. I felt pressured to
attempt to do something to alleviate the overload. I was mulling over the idea
of beginning a second group running on a different night and when a fellow
named [Source A] entered the scene my hopes were piqued. [Source A] was
charismatic and had oodles of self-confidence. Unfortunately, he had one
problem; he gave out dangerously bad instruction based on his feelings about a
situation. Further, he would give others legal advice as though it were fact,
when in truth it was false. [Source A] would make things up as he went. On one
evening, while he was chairing a meeting under my auspice, [Source A] suggested
a course of action to one of the group members that was so bad, I had to
interrupt him and set the matter straight. On another occasion, a participant,
obviously in awe of the knowledge [Source A] purported to have, complimented
him on it. [Source A] responded by stating that he has studied law so much on matters pertaining to his own case,
that he was as smart as any lawyer. When [Source A] made this statement I truly
believe he meant it.
Dr. Christensen recognized this
also, and since [Source A] was pushing the second set of meetings where he
would act as chair, was adamant to oppose it. I had hoped that between myself and relevant others, we would be
able to get [Source A] on to the right track and, therefore, continued to push
for the second support group in spite of Dr. Christensen’s objection. But Dr.
Christensen is keenly aware of the hazards of bad information and strives to
avoid it. He didn’t do it to assist [Tim] Adams establish a clientele base, and
again, if Ms. Laframboise would have contacted me I could have set her straight
on this issue. [Again: later we'll see how deliberately she avoided this
information. However, as the next hyperlink reveals, she did know a lot about
Source A's attitudes and motives.] [Back]
At the time
that Ms. Laframboise was doing her investigation into this matter it was made known to me that she had been given my
name and position in relation to the group, and that I should expect to hear
from her regarding it. I was extra diligent at the time to --->
ECMAS SUPPORT
GROUP
Where so ever two or three should gather,
There also support shall be”
ensure that I received my
telephone messages in a timely manner so that I would be able to respond to any
request for information she may have of me. Ms. Laframboise never made any
attempt to contact me, which is sad because I could have given her information, which would have helped her
understand what was really happening. [The reporter's own
company telephone log, linked earlier here, shows no calls placed to Mr.
Haiden.] [Back]
What was happening then is what still happens currently; non-custodial
parents of both genders come out to the weekly meeting and find two hours of
respite from their torment. Some are encouraged to continue after they were
discouraged from trying and some become cognizant of the fact that they are
relatively well off and begin to cope, but in all cases people come to the
group and get new, good information and support they didn’t have before. Dr.
Christensen was and is, the driving force behind the support group. He is the person who recruited me. [Tim] Adams
was and is the person who sets me straight on certain issues. Without his able
assistance I would never have made it to
where I am today. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Christensen and [Tim] Adams, the
ECMAS support group has been and will continue to be, an effective institution,
the objective of which is to bring parents and children together.
I proud of, not ashamed of, my affiliation with both men.
Sincerely,
James A. Haiden