WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government has won permanent guardianship of two children whose parents were accused of teaching them neo-Nazi beliefs.
A Court of Queen's Bench judge ordered Thursday that the boy and girl remain in the custody of Manitoba Child and Family Services, which has placed them in foster care with a relative.
The court also dismissed a constitutional challenge from the father, who argued the government violated his right to raise the children according to his beliefs.
The children were removed from their home in 2008 after the girl showed up at her elementary school with racist writings and symbols on her skin. Social workers testified she used racial epithets to describe blacks, Asians, aboriginals and other minorities. One worker told the court the girl calmly described how black people could be killed with a ball and chain.
No one in the case can be identified under provincial law.
The government agency argued the children were emotionally harmed by the teachings, and were also being raised in squalor and suffering from neglect. The father rarely worked and neither parent was emotionally equipped to provide a proper home, government lawyer Kris Janovcik said.
The father admitted to using Nazi salutes and telling the children that only white people belong in Canada. But he told the court his beliefs do not amount to racism and he never preached violence.
The mother, who now lives in another province, attended court infrequently, saying she could not afford the travel. She accused social workers of putting words in her daughter's mouth and said she never preached at her children to hate.
Neither parent was immediately available for comment Thursday.
Court approves foster care for kids in racially charged Manitoba custody case
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Published on
February 12, 2010
- Published on February 24, 2010
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