York Region residents want tough penalties for parents who leave kids in cars

Yorkregion.com
July 17, 2014
By Jeremy Grimaldi

York Region residents have expressed almost universal support for harsher penalties for those who knowingly leave children in cars.

A survey of shoppers at the region’s busiest and largest mall, which has seen more than one of these type incidents over the past few years, showed outrage among shoppers was unanimous, with some calling for a new law to be created to stem the tide of irresponsible behaviour.

“It’s horrible and irresponsible,” said father-of-two young girls Michael Johnson. “People need to be charged with neglect no matter what.”

The debate comes only four days after a father was charged with leaving a child unattended after allegedly going into the mall while his one-year-old child was in the car for more than 30 minutes, on a day when outside temperatures reached 30 C.

This is not the first time this sort of behaviour has been an issue.

An Aurora mother allegedly left her child alone in her car in Markham last summer and, in January, a man was charged with child abandonment after allegedly leaving his child alone in a car in a Markham Costco parking lot.

In the first case, the woman received a conditional discharge and a year probation, however in the latter, all charges were withdrawn.

The Attorney General’s office did not respond to queries about why charges were dropped.

Across the country, the problem is much wider - last year, 20 people were charged with leaving children in vehicles, three of those charged under the Criminal Code.

Furthermore, child safety groups say only a fraction of cases are actually reported.

The issue hit the public conscience in a big way last June in Milton when two-year-old Maximus Huyskens died after being left in a sweltering car in what appeared to be a tragic accident involving his grandmother.

Although the case was deemed a mistake, a case of drowsy forgetfulness, action was initiated by those in the community when local mother-of-three, Rose Passarelli, helped organize a fair in his name.

Since the second annual event took place earlier this summer, raising thousands of dollars, the American public safety group KidsAndCars.org has expanded to Canada, headed by Ms Passarelli.

Speaking on her own behalf and not as a representative of the group, she said although she doesn’t believe the threat of prison would solve the problem, she does believe harsher financial penalties and a public awareness campaign could go a long way.

“Criminal punishment would not deter parents from locking kids in the car,” she said. “Parents should be fined for leaving kids in cars, if they’re doing it on purpose.”

She added that if people are being fined $150 for texting while driving, they should be automatically fined upwards of $1,000 for leaving children in cars.

Mississauga’s Gary Nickerson plans to go in front of city council with a motion that a bylaw be created forcing all mall parking spaces be outfitted with signs warning people about leaving children in cars, Ms Passarelli added

In the U.S., where 620 children have died as a result of being left in hot cars over the past two decades, 19 states have laws specifically dealing with the issue.

Amber Rollins, director of KidsAndCars.org, said she hopes Canada will, one day, benefit from new and more specific laws.

She added that her preferred legislation was enacted in California - it stipulates all fines paid as a result of a children being left in cars must be paid out to child safety organizations.

Without more consistent laws, she said numerous details can factor into whether or not people get punished at all and the severity of that punishment.

Those include the age of the child, how long the child is left in the car and even what the parent is doing during the absence.

“Often it comes down to whether the parent was tanning, in a strip joint or shopping,” she said, noting that if the parent is shopping for food, the punishment can be less severe as opposed to more frivolous activities. “Often, it can also depend on the opinion of the officer and the prosecuting attorney. There doesn’t seem to be any consistency.”

She added that one thing she is definitely witnessing is a higher demand across Canada for more “criminal strictness” from governments.

When shoppers were asked how they felt about the issue, many agreed that stricter rules should be put into place.

“It’s absolutely disgusting and people need to be fined,” said Mary Phillips a mother of one and a grandmother of two. “If you leave a child in a car on a hot day, it’s criminal, even if he or she is unharmed, the child should not be left unattended. There should be new laws and a fine put in place, plus jail time for extreme cases.”

Currently, people can be charged with one of two crimes, according to police, including leaving a child unattended and the more serious and criminal charge of child abandonment.

For these crimes police said punishment can range up to 18-months in prison and five-years in prison for the latter.

However this extent of punishment is rarely if ever applied in these cases.

There was also support among shoppers for stiffer sentences for those who leave their animals in cars.

Only last year, Angele Lazurko was given a conditional discharge, probation and 100 hours of community service after leaving her dog, Tucker, in the car while shopping at Vaughan Mills.

Charges against her boyfriend, Matthieu Arbour, were dropped in the aftermath of the pet’s death.

The Ministry of Attorney General responded to queries about the possibility of creating a new law, advising that there are a number of laws that can be used to charge those who commit the offence.

There are several offences under the Criminal Code that could apply to an act leaving a child unattended in a vehicle, including the offence of child abandonment, said Heather Visser from the ministry. There are also provincial laws that address the welfare and safety of children such as the Child and Family Services Act and the Highway Traffic Act, which would apply to the unsafe transportation of children.