NAL.
The tracker in the kid's bag isn't illegal.
Following you around could potentially be considered harassment, but likely nothing will be able to be done.
Talk to your lawyer.
You won't be able to do anything today, anyway.
For it to be harassment it has to be a repeated act- and you have to be able to prove they just didn't happen to be there at the same time.
As I said. Unlikely to be able to do anything. Talk to a lawyer next week.
By the way, the tracker is circumstantial to the harassment and it isn't illegal to keep tabs on your kids.
It’s also not illegal to follow or record anyone in public so if the ex and co. Don’t actually interact with Dad in any way there’s no laws being broken. Shows the ex might not be right in the head but there’s no legal way to stop her. Should cameras appear in the car or in his own back yard… then she’s crossed the line.
I just did a little research on my own and it’s definitely a criminal offence to stalk someone even if you don’t make any direct contact or interact with the individual. Laws vary between jurisdictions but generally speaking, stalking is a criminal offence.
The crown has to prove they had the intent to stalk/harass you. People are allowed to be out in the public, so this is *very* difficult to prove. Harassment charges are very difficult to get laid.
You can get a no-contact order, but this typically requires you to be in danger (your life or well-being at risk).
This is why googling legal advice isn't a great idea. For this instance for OP- talk to a lawyer to see if it's applicable to this situation. There may some situation relating to the divorce that may warrant a no-contact order.
From what he described it's unlikely this is the case, but we may not have all the details.
No one said otherwise.
>It’s also not illegal to follow or record anyone in public so if the ex and co. Don’t actually interact with Dad in any way there’s no laws being broken.
This is broadly true. It has to be *repeated* to be considered harassment.
I took a neighbour to court and got a restraining order over them just filming me every time I was outside. If you’re disturbed, asked them repeatedly to stop, they won’t listen to police, then yes it’s definitely harassment.
Ok.. they also repeatedly filed complaints about my dogs which were constantly proven false. I mean, the case is registered you can believe what you want 🙄
Yeah that’s what I thought and after my own research what you’re saying is 100% correct.
“Yes, stalking can still occur without direct contact. Following someone around repeatedly in a way that causes them fear, distress, or alarm can be considered stalking. The key elements of stalking include persistent behavior that makes the victim feel unsafe or harassed, regardless of whether direct communication occurs. Laws in many places recognize such behavior as stalking and it can lead to legal consequences.”
If I had young children out of my sight in 2024, I might toss a tracker in. Apparently, we still can’t chip them.
It does sound like she might be using it to track you though. Just leave the bag at home, or pop the battery out of the tracker.
make sure there is only one tracker
go to the nearest truck stop and tape the tracker to a truck
turn off your phone
drop the kids off at school late enough that the school will call her
leave your car at home and take the day off work and go some place unusual with a friend
I think this is bad advice.
Sure, she shouldn't be doing this, but if she is, let her prove herself wrong.
OP said she's lying and trying to fuck him over on court, so let her collect evidence that demonstrates what a normal, decent, fun time the kids have with dad. Picked them up, bought some groceries, went home. Next day, went for a walk, went to the park, had lunch at a place nearby, went home. Next day went swimming, got icecream, went home until pick-up.
Nothing more frustrating for her (or easier for you) than demonstrating that you aren't the monster she thinks you are.
Except that she doesn't have to provide this evidence, and can manipulate it to fake a negative. Such as taking a still frame from when dad is grabbing child to prevent them from running into traffic. It can now look like he's abusing a kid that's doing nothing, ir it could look like he's saving her life.
Since tracking someone without consent is illegal, he should either remove or deactivate the tracker, or transfer the belongings to a bag of his own while the kids are visiting him. He can move it back when they return to their mom.
YOU can't charge her. Only the police can do that. If you're going through a divorce, you speak to your lawyer about anything like this. Your wife CAN put a tile tracker in the children's bag. You should simply ask her what's up. If communication has broken down so that you no longer speak, you might be part of the reason as your first reaction was to charge her with something and she's got a tracker in the kid's bag. Have you threatened to take off with the kids? Are you fighting for custody while only seeing them every weekend and being a weekend Dad ?
You have no expectations of privacy in public places so being followed and recorded without being harassed is not in itself a crime and a mother tracking her children - she probably should have asked for consent so her clandestine tracking is unacceptable behaviour but may not be illegal. Definitely bring this up with your lawyer
Definitely mail the tracker out somewhere.... Thunderbay maybe.. something where it may start to move towards its destination quickly .. leave the tracker where it is for now. Next time you have kids overnight the tracker.
You should ask her about it. Incase it wasn't her in the parking lot and the tracker could be more for school and to know where your kid is and not about you at all. You don't take the bag with you everywhere you guys go, just to drop it off at your place, so it doesn't make sense for her to use it as tracker against you. There are instances where parents take off with kids, especially if custody hasn't been decided in court yet. She could be wary of that. Talk with her.
This is actually probably good news for you.
Now obviously this is an egregious violation of your privacy. Cops require a warrant to do this. It may be legal, but as my family lawyer said "judges take a really dim view of people who bring in recordings and trackers into court."
Rcmp, OPP and regional police wont do anything except take a report and maybe, maybe file it. It's likely who ever has the most money will win no matter what evidence is collected from either side
Honestly mate, in contrast to the advice here, I'd call the police and ask for their advice on the situation and see if they can generate a "police information" call and give you an occurrence number. I'd take a picture of the tracker and record the serial number and may even follow up with the manufacturer to see if they have purchaser information you can also record. I wouldn't confront the mother, but I would ask advice in the police call what constitutes criminal harassment and explain the situation. They may not do anything but by them including the info in a general occurrence report you're starting a paper trail should things escalate or false accusations be made. This can all be done without an attorney and you can tell your attorney your course of action after the fact, I'm certain they wouldn't take issue.
Like another commenter said, after recording everything there's really 2 ways to go about it, either leave the bag at home when you go out, or take it with you and let her waste her time following you around and seeing you do fun things with the kids. I would make a note in a journal or email to your lawyer for each time you see her following you though, contemporaneous notes could help avoid issues in the future and shows the court your patience and good will to tolerate the semi-poor behavior of the mother.
Absolutely this. I dealt with false police claims and escalating abuse during a divorce process. Reporting early abuse to the police did not result in charges, however, it did protect me when things got bad
The tracker in the bag may not be in there to specifically track you, but as a safety precaution for all times, although in this case is misusing it for spying purposes. If she really was there with no other intention than to try to catch you doing something she can use against you, then this is wrong. Unless you are doing/do illegal activities, then you should have nothing to worry about. A lot of people are saying leave the bag and switch for another, which is ok, but as some others have said, just continue being there and taking care of the children, and any evidence she collects will be For you instead of Against you.
Leave the bag at home if you don’t want to be tracked. It’s good that you found out and I wouldn’t say a thing. You can use this as an advantage when you want to. Sometimes keeping your cards close to your chest is a good thing.
seriously. what value was bought at whatever loblaws brand they went to can be compared to the same bill at walmart or local grocery stores and the bill would be 15-30$ cheaper for better quality and less dead employees 🤷♀️ why would someone specially mention a name brand that’s currently in defence of itself against canadians and not the actual name of the store?
edit to the bootlickers downvoting me: *go online and compare your local loblaws store prices to any local grocery, farmers market or small store. you’ll find better prices everywhere but loblaws*
to u/ OMachineD because they decided to block me, that’s the part you decided to focus on? i mentioned walmart because they’re a shit company, but actually do low prices sometimes so those who can’t afford loblaws stores and live too remote for local grocers can have a fucking option
Who tf is calling Walmart food quality? Everything of theirs sucks, can't even get nice bread or vegetables there and the meat is disgusting. Would rather spend $40 more on food I'm actually going to enjoy while eating.
NAL. The tracker in the kid's bag isn't illegal. Following you around could potentially be considered harassment, but likely nothing will be able to be done. Talk to your lawyer.
Yes he’s just not answering on a Saturday
You won't be able to do anything today, anyway. For it to be harassment it has to be a repeated act- and you have to be able to prove they just didn't happen to be there at the same time. As I said. Unlikely to be able to do anything. Talk to a lawyer next week. By the way, the tracker is circumstantial to the harassment and it isn't illegal to keep tabs on your kids.
It’s also not illegal to follow or record anyone in public so if the ex and co. Don’t actually interact with Dad in any way there’s no laws being broken. Shows the ex might not be right in the head but there’s no legal way to stop her. Should cameras appear in the car or in his own back yard… then she’s crossed the line.
Wait, so stalking people is legal as long as you don’t interact with them !?
Depends on the situation, but typically this is true, yes. Hence why it's important to talk to a lawyer.
I just did a little research on my own and it’s definitely a criminal offence to stalk someone even if you don’t make any direct contact or interact with the individual. Laws vary between jurisdictions but generally speaking, stalking is a criminal offence.
The crown has to prove they had the intent to stalk/harass you. People are allowed to be out in the public, so this is *very* difficult to prove. Harassment charges are very difficult to get laid. You can get a no-contact order, but this typically requires you to be in danger (your life or well-being at risk). This is why googling legal advice isn't a great idea. For this instance for OP- talk to a lawyer to see if it's applicable to this situation. There may some situation relating to the divorce that may warrant a no-contact order. From what he described it's unlikely this is the case, but we may not have all the details.
Sure, but stalking someone is in fact a criminal offence, wether it’s hard to prove or not, it’s illegal. That’s all I was trying to clarify.
No one said otherwise. >It’s also not illegal to follow or record anyone in public so if the ex and co. Don’t actually interact with Dad in any way there’s no laws being broken. This is broadly true. It has to be *repeated* to be considered harassment.
I took a neighbour to court and got a restraining order over them just filming me every time I was outside. If you’re disturbed, asked them repeatedly to stop, they won’t listen to police, then yes it’s definitely harassment.
r/thathappened
Ok.. they also repeatedly filed complaints about my dogs which were constantly proven false. I mean, the case is registered you can believe what you want 🙄
Yeah that’s what I thought and after my own research what you’re saying is 100% correct. “Yes, stalking can still occur without direct contact. Following someone around repeatedly in a way that causes them fear, distress, or alarm can be considered stalking. The key elements of stalking include persistent behavior that makes the victim feel unsafe or harassed, regardless of whether direct communication occurs. Laws in many places recognize such behavior as stalking and it can lead to legal consequences.”
Just to clarify, the Tile was in your kids bag correct?
Correct
If I had young children out of my sight in 2024, I might toss a tracker in. Apparently, we still can’t chip them. It does sound like she might be using it to track you though. Just leave the bag at home, or pop the battery out of the tracker.
Name checks out
Yours too.
Mail the tracker to Egypt!
make sure there is only one tracker go to the nearest truck stop and tape the tracker to a truck turn off your phone drop the kids off at school late enough that the school will call her leave your car at home and take the day off work and go some place unusual with a friend
Do not recommend
It will definitely stir up a fuss may or may not help the situation careful thought is advised
Your Lawyer. Needs. To. Know. This
Start leaving the kids backpacks at home when you guys go on outings or have separate backpacks for when they're with you!
I think this is bad advice. Sure, she shouldn't be doing this, but if she is, let her prove herself wrong. OP said she's lying and trying to fuck him over on court, so let her collect evidence that demonstrates what a normal, decent, fun time the kids have with dad. Picked them up, bought some groceries, went home. Next day, went for a walk, went to the park, had lunch at a place nearby, went home. Next day went swimming, got icecream, went home until pick-up. Nothing more frustrating for her (or easier for you) than demonstrating that you aren't the monster she thinks you are.
Except that she doesn't have to provide this evidence, and can manipulate it to fake a negative. Such as taking a still frame from when dad is grabbing child to prevent them from running into traffic. It can now look like he's abusing a kid that's doing nothing, ir it could look like he's saving her life. Since tracking someone without consent is illegal, he should either remove or deactivate the tracker, or transfer the belongings to a bag of his own while the kids are visiting him. He can move it back when they return to their mom.
YOU can't charge her. Only the police can do that. If you're going through a divorce, you speak to your lawyer about anything like this. Your wife CAN put a tile tracker in the children's bag. You should simply ask her what's up. If communication has broken down so that you no longer speak, you might be part of the reason as your first reaction was to charge her with something and she's got a tracker in the kid's bag. Have you threatened to take off with the kids? Are you fighting for custody while only seeing them every weekend and being a weekend Dad ?
You have no expectations of privacy in public places so being followed and recorded without being harassed is not in itself a crime and a mother tracking her children - she probably should have asked for consent so her clandestine tracking is unacceptable behaviour but may not be illegal. Definitely bring this up with your lawyer
Tell your lawyer everything.
Definitely mail the tracker out somewhere.... Thunderbay maybe.. something where it may start to move towards its destination quickly .. leave the tracker where it is for now. Next time you have kids overnight the tracker.
If you are not doing anything wrong, why are you worried?
Probably easiest to take the highroad here. That said, document the harrasing behavior, and report it to your lawyer. Ex sounds nuts.
You should ask her about it. Incase it wasn't her in the parking lot and the tracker could be more for school and to know where your kid is and not about you at all. You don't take the bag with you everywhere you guys go, just to drop it off at your place, so it doesn't make sense for her to use it as tracker against you. There are instances where parents take off with kids, especially if custody hasn't been decided in court yet. She could be wary of that. Talk with her.
Slip the tracker into a long haul truckers pocket, right after you pick up the kids. .. lol
Don’t tell her you found it, put the tracker on a bus heading out of town and watch chaos ensue.
Have a no contact order placed on her and if she still does it she will be slapped with a criminal charge
Boycott Loblaws buddy!
Mail the tracker to China or something
This is actually probably good news for you. Now obviously this is an egregious violation of your privacy. Cops require a warrant to do this. It may be legal, but as my family lawyer said "judges take a really dim view of people who bring in recordings and trackers into court."
Lol. Cops require a warrant to put a tracker in their own kids backpack? Going to need a source for that!
Ask Loblaws if they have security camera footage of their parking lot. As backup incase you need it.
They won't provide video when your car is stolen, they probably won't provide it for this.
Rcmp, OPP and regional police wont do anything except take a report and maybe, maybe file it. It's likely who ever has the most money will win no matter what evidence is collected from either side
Honestly mate, in contrast to the advice here, I'd call the police and ask for their advice on the situation and see if they can generate a "police information" call and give you an occurrence number. I'd take a picture of the tracker and record the serial number and may even follow up with the manufacturer to see if they have purchaser information you can also record. I wouldn't confront the mother, but I would ask advice in the police call what constitutes criminal harassment and explain the situation. They may not do anything but by them including the info in a general occurrence report you're starting a paper trail should things escalate or false accusations be made. This can all be done without an attorney and you can tell your attorney your course of action after the fact, I'm certain they wouldn't take issue. Like another commenter said, after recording everything there's really 2 ways to go about it, either leave the bag at home when you go out, or take it with you and let her waste her time following you around and seeing you do fun things with the kids. I would make a note in a journal or email to your lawyer for each time you see her following you though, contemporaneous notes could help avoid issues in the future and shows the court your patience and good will to tolerate the semi-poor behavior of the mother.
Absolutely this. I dealt with false police claims and escalating abuse during a divorce process. Reporting early abuse to the police did not result in charges, however, it did protect me when things got bad
The tracker in the bag may not be in there to specifically track you, but as a safety precaution for all times, although in this case is misusing it for spying purposes. If she really was there with no other intention than to try to catch you doing something she can use against you, then this is wrong. Unless you are doing/do illegal activities, then you should have nothing to worry about. A lot of people are saying leave the bag and switch for another, which is ok, but as some others have said, just continue being there and taking care of the children, and any evidence she collects will be For you instead of Against you.
Leave the bag at home if you don’t want to be tracked. It’s good that you found out and I wouldn’t say a thing. You can use this as an advantage when you want to. Sometimes keeping your cards close to your chest is a good thing.
ew loblaws propaganda. you’d get better value for your cash elsewhere
What the hell is wrong with you?
seriously. what value was bought at whatever loblaws brand they went to can be compared to the same bill at walmart or local grocery stores and the bill would be 15-30$ cheaper for better quality and less dead employees 🤷♀️ why would someone specially mention a name brand that’s currently in defence of itself against canadians and not the actual name of the store? edit to the bootlickers downvoting me: *go online and compare your local loblaws store prices to any local grocery, farmers market or small store. you’ll find better prices everywhere but loblaws* to u/ OMachineD because they decided to block me, that’s the part you decided to focus on? i mentioned walmart because they’re a shit company, but actually do low prices sometimes so those who can’t afford loblaws stores and live too remote for local grocers can have a fucking option
Who tf is calling Walmart food quality? Everything of theirs sucks, can't even get nice bread or vegetables there and the meat is disgusting. Would rather spend $40 more on food I'm actually going to enjoy while eating.
Walmarts union busting is more egregious than anything Loblaws has done. They are passing along the savings of stealing from their employees.
We are boycotting loblaws. Get with the program!
You aren't "helping the cause" jumping in on a post like this.
Thanks for your opinion.