Found Safe Canada - O’Driscoll-Zak sisters, 2 & 5, abduction by aunt & grandmother, Cochrane, 12 Mar 2021

[Ninja Bunny]

Yes, it does look that way but I struggle with the simplistic “they’re all just mad and bad” theme alongside what appears to be some quite efficient PR. One person being bitter and vindictive to this extreme would make sense but adding other family members makes me less certain. I think mistakes have been made and those mistakes may have spiralled out of control leading to other mistakes but I wonder how much of that is potentially down to sub par legal advice.

I don’t believe there’s a straight up innocent party and a straight up guilty party in this. I still think there’s a missing element.

I’ve seen entire families or sides of families and their allies act like evil, vindictive cults that as a group hurt truly innocent parties. I can name names and link to threads of those cases in this forum. It is not outside the realm of probability that the father is an innocent person and someone or several someones on the mother’s side have some kind of anti-social personality disorder and the rest of the “cult”are willful enablers.

 

[everybodhi]

Defence lawyer Balfour Der argued for the pair’s release.

At Der’s request, Cummings imposed a publication ban on the hearing, which included the judge’s reasons for releasing them.

I wonder if the publication ban requested by the attorney for the accused applies to the family social media page and the threads of allegations against several including the court?

I wish the Herald would have updated the public on the welfare of the children. It would be good to know they are OK.

Social media page is still alive and kicking.
I guess if one is not a part of the case, they can still make any claims they want online.

 

[Mystrywrtr62]

There’s something missing in this case I think. An important element of the story isn’t being told and none of it sits right with me at all. I can’t believe that it’s just all about a bitter woman in a difficult divorce situation who has somehow managed to convince not just one but two family members to do something unlawful while also potentially conspiring with a dodgy lawyer. It’s just doesn’t sit comfortably for me.

There’s an undercurrent of something else, but can’t put my finger on it. Maybe a religious element, maybe something else. I just don’t know. Sorry for the vague post, I’m just struggling to articulate whatever it is that I’m thinking here!

Yes, it does look that way but I struggle with the simplistic “they’re all just mad and bad” theme alongside what appears to be some quite efficient PR. One person being bitter and vindictive to this extreme would make sense but adding other family members makes me less certain. I think mistakes have been made and those mistakes may have spiralled out of control leading to other mistakes but I wonder how much of that is potentially down to sub par legal advice.

I don’t believe there’s a straight up innocent party and a straight up guilty party in this. I still think there’s a missing element.

it isn’t “PR” - a well qualified female minority judge based on the facts before her found the mother in contempt of two court orders and found that she was engaging in alienating behaviour. The mother is on her third set of lawyers, has lost appeals, the RCMP have investigated and dismissed claims of sexual abuse she levied against the husband. There is a lot of objective evidence that points that way, not “PR”. PR is all the wife has, biased PR on social media that isn’t supported by facts.

 

[everybodhi]

it isn’t “PR” - a well qualified female minority judge based on the facts before her found the mother in contempt of two court orders and found that she was engaging in alienating behaviour. The mother is on her third set of lawyers, has lost appeals, the RCMP have investigated and dismissed claims of sexual abuse she levied against the husband. There is a lot of objective evidence that points that way, not “PR”. PR is all the wife has, biased PR on social media that isn’t supported by facts.

Some people have claimed that judge is uneducated and inexperienced, they obviously didn’t look at her résumé.
The court of appeals, composed of several judges, upheld her ruling too, after the complaint was filed that she was biased.
The disapproval and demonizing of his alleged religion is especially ugly, imo.
As a hypothetical example, I’m not a Hare Krishna devotee, but in a free country, if you want to practice a 500+ year old monotheistic sect of Hinduism, shave your head, wear orange robes, and chant mantras to express your devotion to God, that’s your right, kids or not. Hinduism is not linked to child abuse any more than Christianity, maybe even less.
Many families, together and apart, have raised children with two religions for ages without hurting their children.

 

[otto]

Some people have claimed that judge is uneducated and inexperienced, they obviously didn’t look at her résumé.
The court of appeals, composed of several judges, upheld her ruling too, after the complaint was filed that she was biased.
The disapproval and demonizing of his alleged religion is especially ugly, imo.
As a hypothetical example, I’m not a Hare Krishna devotee, but in a free country, if you want to practice a 500+ year old monotheistic sect of Hinduism, shave your head, wear orange robes, and chant mantras to express your devotion to God, that’s your right, kids or not. Hinduism is not linked to child abuse any more than Christianity, maybe even less.
Many families, together and apart, have raised children with two religions for ages without hurting their children.

Canada has freedom of religion - people who think that religious belief, or exploration of religious ideology, is a reason to remove children from their parents are simply revealing their own rigidity regarding religious thought.

I don't recall the Judge's name, but, when I looked at her bio several weeks ago, she seemed like a normal Judge. What are the perceived strikes against the Judge?

 

[MistyWaters]

If there’s PR happening, I’d say it’s coming from the maternal side who leave the impression it’s a matter of an old-school either him or her custody arrangements. The reality is Family Court always strives for joint/shared custody as that serves the best interests of the children while assuming both parents are caring, mature adults.

According to the court documents appearing in Canlii, the dad was given full custody because of substantial concerns regarding the mother’s parenting behaviour. Had it been proven the children were at risk by their dad as well, then it’s likely they’d have been removed and placed in a foster home. An unfit father doesn’t erase the concern of an unfit mother.

JMO

 

[otto]

If there’s PR happening, I’d say it’s coming from the maternal side who leave the impression it’s a matter of an old-school either him or her custody arrangements. The reality is Family Court always strives for joint/shared custody as that serves the best interests of the children while assuming both parents are caring, mature adults.

According to the court documents appearing in Canlii, the dad was given full custody because of substantial concerns regarding the mother’s parenting behaviour. Had it been proven the children were at risk by their dad as well, then it’s likely they’d have been removed and placed in a foster home. An unfit father doesn’t erase the concern of an unfit mother.

JMO

The mother apparently believed that she would be granted sole custody. That's extremely rare when there are two capable parents, so it's odd that she expected it.

She could have accepted joint custody where she had day to day care and control, and the children had generous visitation with their father. That would have allowed her to keep the matrimonial house and make most decisions about the children's upbringing. That wasn't good enough either.

When she didn't get what she wanted, it appears that she used well-known dirty custody tactics to damage the reputation of the father. When that didn't work, her family resorted to kidnapping.

It is the mother's family and lawyers who have violated the privacy of the children by revealing the dirty custody tactics that were used over a period of 18 months. The father has been publicly slandered as well (Canlii documents).

It seems that the Judge did everything possible to include both parents in the children's upbringing, but eventually had no choice but to assign sole custody to the parent who had the best interests of the children at heart.

 

[Seattle1]

In a typical legal separation, the couple should have already been divorced and moved on with their lives-- raising their children in a manner that was in the best interest of their minor daughters. I'm so sorry for what these beautiful children are still going through 20+ months later.

From the legal docs, we know the couple separated in July 2019 -- action commenced by CMZ--with the children in the primary care of their mother, and joint decision-making between the parties.

Canada has no-fault divorce. The only ground for a divorce in the Divorce Act is marriage breakdown. The Divorce Act says you can show your marriage has broken down if any ONE of the following criteria applies to you:

1. You have been living apart for one year or more.
2. Your spouse has been physically or mentally cruel to you.
3. Your spouse has committed adultery.

Eliminating the more serious issues-- seems the couple could have been divorced as early as July 2020 after living apart for one year.

Unfortunately -- by July 2020 the father was reportedly arguing in court over the absence of his parenting time with his daughters and where the court was satisfied with the proof of parental alienation caused by the mother. No excuse for the irreparable harm done here.

How to Apply for a Divorce

ETA: When I look back at all the father has been accused of here, I can't believe LOZ wasn't first pounding the pavement to reach the filing desk to end this union!

 

[otto]

In a typical legal separation, the couple should have already been divorced and moved on with their lives-- raising their children in a manner that was in the best interest of their minor daughters. I'm so sorry for what these beautiful children are still going through 20+ months later.

From the legal docs, we know the couple separated in July 2019 -- action commenced by CMZ--with the children in the primary care of their mother, and joint decision-making between the parties.

Canada has no-fault divorce. The only ground for a divorce in the Divorce Act is marriage breakdown. The Divorce Act says you can show your marriage has broken down if any ONE of the following criteria applies to you:

1. You have been living apart for one year or more.
2. Your spouse has been physically or mentally cruel to you.
3. Your spouse has committed adultery.

Eliminating the more serious issues-- seems the couple could have been divorced as early as July 2020 after living apart for one year.

Unfortunately -- by July 2020 the father was reportedly arguing in court over the absence of his parenting time with his daughters and where the court was satisfied with the proof of parental alienation caused by the mother. No excuse for the irreparable harm done here.

How to Apply for a Divorce

ETA: When I look back at all the father has been accused of here, I can't believe LOZ wasn't first pounding the pavement to reach the filing desk to end this union!

The fact that father filed for divorce tells us a lot. He was the party that decided the marriage was irretrievably broken. He chose the high rode and left the family home to preserve the home for the children and their mother. All he wanted, based on available court documents, was reasonable visitation with his children.

It should never have ended up as it is today.

 

[everybodhi]

The fact that father filed for divorce tells us a lot. He was the party that decided the marriage was irretrievably broken. He chose the high rode and left the family home to preserve the home for the children and their mother. All he wanted, based on available court documents, was reasonable visitation with his children.

It should never have ended up as it is today.

A lot of energy has been spent on social media making horrible accusations, I don’t know if that can work against defendants in family or criminal court.
I don’t think it’s serving the children, or anyone’s interests really, but hypothetically, once you pass the $10,000 donation point it’s probably hard to stop before reaching your $50,000 goal. JMO

 

[otto]

A lot of energy has been spent on social media making horrible accusations, I don’t know if that can work against defendants in family or criminal court.
I don’t think it’s serving the children, or anyone’s interests really, but hypothetically, once you pass the $10,000 donation point it’s probably hard to stop before reaching your $50,000 goal. JMO

The RCMP are already involved in the case, and they do have a cyber crimes unit. If there has been a coordinated effort by the family to further damage the reputation of the father, or to publish court updates even though there is a publication ban, that could backfire for the kidnappers. There is already a history of violating court orders. Continued violations could perhaps result in fines or restricted access to hearings. Just speculation, but law has to protect individuals from interference during family, and criminal, court hearings.

 

[otto]

The kidnapping suspects hired a lawyer, former crown prosecutor, who knows how these things end. Balfour Der is a top lawyer who has represented guilty clients so many times that he very likely tells them at the outset what to expect; that he will do his best to mitigate. That's what these suspects are paying for - a lawyer who will try to portray them as victims doing what they thought was right. The more they are victims, the better the mitigation.

Who is the bad guy? The mother of the children - who portrayed the situation such that the kidnappers felt there was no alternative but criminal abduction. The mother is the bad guy who failed in the marriage as well. Based on court documents (linked upthread), she repeatedly violated child visitation orders even though she had the matrimonial house and the children. All she had to do was share the children with their father, which was eventually court-ordered scheduled visitation. There, she repeatedly failed. Why did she fail?

Did she convince her family that her husband was a monster, or did her family convince her that her husband was a monster? It makes a big difference regarding who is behind this terrible situation with two young children.

Th kidnappers will probably claim that their daughter hired new lawyers (Diann Castle) who promised an appeal and a lot of noise that was going to change the custody ruling, so they were protecting the children. Within a day or so of the denial of appeal, the children appeared.

I wonder when the kidnappers first contacted Balfour Der. Did he advise them to sit tight until the custody ruling appeal was heard?

 

[otto]

Did Balfour Der tell Diann Castle to appeal the ruling and to move things along?

 

[everybodhi]

Did Balfour Der tell Diann Castle to appeal the ruling and to move things along?

[44] At the April 7, 2021 hearing of this application, I was advised the April 27-30, 2021 Queen’s Bench hearing dates have been vacated. I was also advised there is a pending motion seeking recusal of the case management judge, which I understand, is to be heard on April 30, 2021.

[45] Given the circumstances, and recognizing Ms O’Driscoll sought an expedited appeal, I have directed the appeal shall be heard by a panel of this Court on May 4, 2021. The appeal record and the appellant’s factum must be filed and served no later than April 21, 2021. The respondent’s factum must be filed and served no later than April 28, 2021.

Tomorrow her motion to recuse Judge Pierce from case management will be heard, (again?).
She lost her emergency motion to stay the custody decision until her appeal can be heard. Her actual motion to appeal CZ being awarded custody will be heard on Tuesday.
I wonder how long it takes to complete the court ordered psychological evaluation and if her evaluation results will be taken into consideration at this time.
It seems very relevant to any court decision.
The father has already willingly underwent months of Parenting Assessment, repeated sobriety tests, and a psychological risk and assessment report and none of her allegations have been substantiated, it’s written repeatedly by the court.
https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abca/d...h9QYGb7u5_M6BMh5dkr1JHuaBWOootkXC9R-Ctg#cited

 

[everybodhi]

DBM

 

[otto]

Tomorrow her motion to recuse Judge Pierce from case management will be heard, (again?).
She lost her emergency motion to stay the custody decision until her appeal can be heard. Her actual motion to appeal CZ being awarded custody will be heard on Tuesday.
I wonder how long it takes to complete the court ordered psychological evaluation and if her evaluation results will be taken into consideration at this time.
It seems very relevant to any court decision.
The father has already willingly underwent months of Parenting Assessment, repeated sobriety tests, and a psychological risk and assessment report and none of her allegations have been substantiated, it’s written repeatedly by the court.
https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abca/d...h9QYGb7u5_M6BMh5dkr1JHuaBWOootkXC9R-Ctg#cited

Of course, the father has already undergone extensive "abuse" allegation-related evaluation. That has been revealed in court documents from the mother's social media, including the false allegations under which that testing was done.

The mother has been referred by the Court of Queen's Bench for a psychiatric assessment that may come back normal.

If both parents appear to be normal according to all standardized tests, would it be a good idea for them to stop tormenting their children? It's not like they are "unique" or making new law. Everything reported here is old, common and little more than angry family dirty laundry.

The only hope of not further damaging the Zak-O'Driscoll pre-school children is for the mother's family to acknowledge and respect that the children have a father who is a good man. He is not perfect, as is the case in all divorces. The other parent is not perfect. That's why there's a divorce, but the children then trump individual selfish goals. That's just how it is.

I wonder how they got to this place - who either of them listened to, in their weakest moment, to end up here.

 

[otto]

When you think about it, correct or not, it seems like the mother (youngest daughter) had her children abducted by her older sister and her mother. There are three daughters in the family, and this cannot be ignored as "sleuthing family members."

Family members are involved in the abduction. The oldest daughter is a pushing 40ish aged spinster lawyer, over achiever. She seems involved in influencing the mother to contact unethical lawyer Diann Castle and to make a fuss with RCMP about false allegations.

The oldest sister has released information, compromising the privacy of minor children, to raise child-abduction related legal-fee donations for her mother and the middle sister. Where does the father fit in this family affair?

That should be corrected soon by Balfour Der - protect the privacy of the children not just in the courtroom, but in the extended family of the abducted children.

 

[Seattle1]

I keep waiting for the Grandfather, father, and husband to step up and provide some much-needed guidance to the women in his life that are seriously impacting the lives of his granddaughters. HELP, please!

 

[MistyWaters]

The latest -

Girls allegedly abducted now in secret location, lawyer tells court | Calgary Herald

“Diann Castle, who represents the girls’ mother Jacqui O’Driscoll Zak, said her client has no idea where her ex-husband, Colin Zak, has taken her daughters.

“We don’t know the whereabouts of where the children are,” Castle told Justice Johanna Price, who Castle wants removed from the case.

Castle said lawyer Penny Pritchett, who acts for the father, has refused to divulge the location where the children are currently living and fears he has removed them from the province in violation of a court order......

.......Castle said Zak has moved from his residence “and he has put on Facebook that he is selling all the items of his home.”

Pritchett said she told Castle the RCMP had advised Zak to relocate to keep out of harm’s way.

“I don’t imagine any of us want to run afoul of what they’re doing in terms of their investigation (into the children’s disappearance),” she said.

Police charged the grandmother and aunt after the girls were located on April 14 in B.C.....”

 

[Ontario Mom]

The latest -

Girls allegedly abducted now in secret location, lawyer tells court | Calgary Herald

“Diann Castle, who represents the girls’ mother Jacqui O’Driscoll Zak, said her client has no idea where her ex-husband, Colin Zak, has taken her daughters.

“We don’t know the whereabouts of where the children are,” Castle told Justice Johanna Price, who Castle wants removed from the case.

Castle said lawyer Penny Pritchett, who acts for the father, has refused to divulge the location where the children are currently living and fears he has removed them from the province in violation of a court order......

.......Castle said Zak has moved from his residence “and he has put on Facebook that he is selling all the items of his home.”

Pritchett said she told Castle the RCMP had advised Zak to relocate to keep out of harm’s way.

“I don’t imagine any of us want to run afoul of what they’re doing in terms of their investigation (into the children’s disappearance),” she said.

Police charged the grandmother and aunt after the girls were located on April 14 in B.C.....”

Good for him!
I'd move too if my ex's sibling and mother kidnapped my baby girls.
Indeed, I'd move the second I got them back. Protecting my kids would be priority #1.