CBC Maritimes

"If you're a parent, would you give up parental decision-making responsibilities to a total stranger - even if that stranger wears a robe and is called 'Your Honour' ?" - Mr Justice Harvey Brownstone

Going to family court when a relationship ends is like going to a war in which nobody wins. The battlefield is populated by immature combatants often blinded with hatred, and bent on vengeance. The psychological wounds from these battles never really heal. And the first casualties - rarely, if ever, heard from - are children.
That's the kind of plain language found in Mr Justice Harvey Brownstone's book "Tug of War :  A Judge's Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles and the Bitter Realities of Family Court". 
It's a brutally candid assessment of what you can expect from a fight waged in family court. It should serve as a warning to couples who turn to the judicial system and a judge to decide on intensely personal matters when their marriage fails and battles over custody and access issues ensue.
Judges almost never speak publicly about the work they do, or make themselves available to phone in shows like this one. But Justice Brownstone takes a different approach. Drawing on 14 years of experience at the Ontario Family Court, he's made it his mission to urge people to think long and hard before they drag their ex-partners into court and embroil their children in their legal battles.
The royalities from "Tug of War" go to the Children's Wish Foundation. Justice Brownstone said he made the decision in part because it broke his heart to know that some parents would never have the privilege of watching their children grow up - while others bickered over who gets to take the kids trick-or-treating.  
Mr Justice Harvey Brownstone was our guest as we invited you to call with your questions about family court or suggestions for how to improve it.