Thank you, honourable Chairman.
Thank you, honourable members of the committee.
We started out as a men's educational support association. It's a charitable organization established in 1994 to help fathers and men in domestic crisis. Our organization has evolved to provide service, support and information to parents—both mothers and fathers—about divorce and family violence issues. Our organization, MESA, is especially proud of the program and the purchase of a house for supervised access in the city of Calgary, which helps fathers and mothers alike. Because the cost of supervised access was so high, we had to have a low-cost alternative.
MESA believes it is in the best interests of all children to have both parents able to participate fully in their lives, even after divorce or separation. This is the concept of equal parenting. The proposed amendments to the Divorce Act do not include the fundamental principles of equal, shared parenting, which leaves this act without a heart to solve current divorce issues.
If the Divorce Act is not amended to include equal, shared parenting, it will continue to be an extension of the current dysfunctional system and may well increase litigation. Canadians deserve a lasting and fair solution that incorporates equal parenting.
I'll pass it on to our president, Gus.