Mr. Damien Peelo:

Let me raise another point about reunification, raised by Senator Ruane. With non-marital families, the legal status of fathers is so difficult at times. If they are not married, they do not automatically have guardianship rights. They can obtain them through court or in other ways, but that often puts them on the periphery. There is a wider societal issue around how men care and the role of men in care that we need to consider. It is often excluded from discussions. We need to think about how fathers are brought into the picture, and what the barriers to caring are for men, particularly fathers, when substance use is not an issue, but even where it is.