The lawyer who represented the woman known as "Lola" in a high profile child support case is in court for a similar case involving six women who feel Quebec's child support benefits are unfair and unconstitutional.
Anne-France Goldwater is alleging children of divorce in Quebec are victims of discrimination because child support payments are often lower than those in other provinces and child support is cut in half in joint custody cases.
Goldwater was the lawyer for "Lola" who was trying to get unmarried couples treated the same as married couples when their relationships end. She lost her constitutional challenge in court against her multi-millionaire ex and the case is now under appeal.
One of the women who testified in Goldwater's current case is a flight attendant living in Dorval with joint custody of her 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. She can't be identified because this is a family law case.
She testified that she has to sell her big, aging, costly-to-maintain house, even though it may mean moving her kids away from their school and friends. She says she had to sell her wedding ring and other jewelry to buy a TV. She testified she has a hard time making ends meet and can't afford extras like cellphones and a new computer for her kids, while her lawyer ex-husband can.
"It makes me feel like crap that he's able to buy them whatever they want for Christmas and stuff like that," she said..
This case aims to bring Quebec payments to the Canadian average of about $2,300 a month. Quebec payments are about $1,400.
"It's very frustrating. Our kids are just as good as any other kids anywhere in the world. Why shouldn't they get the same amount of money?"
Family law lawyer Sylvie Schirm says some parents may be better off than others but it comes down to the children.
"What kind of lifestyle do they have and should that change? And you're paying money for your kids."
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