WINNIPEG -- A self-described white pride supporter fighting for custody of his young step-daughter and son has done nothing to show he can safely care for the children, a court was told yesterday.

Sixteen months after his children were seized by Child and Family Services, the man has no stable job, lives with his parents, and denies he has a substance abuse problem, said CFS lawyer Kris Janovcik.

"You call that stability? Taking responsibility? Being independent? Showing you can do it?" Janovcik said. "What have you done to show the court in six months you will be able to go out and get your own place?"

"I think I've done a lot but I guess you don't see it that way," the man said.

CFS seized the man's now eight-year-old stepdaughter and three-year-old son last year after the girl was sent to school with a swastika and racist writings drawn on her body. CFS is seeking permanent guardianship of the children, arguing they are at risk of psychological and physical harm.

A doctor who conducted a parental assessment on behalf of CFS said returning the children to their father or his estranged wife would expose them to neglect, emotional and psychological abuse, and "questionable parenting practices."

The man said he rejected the doctor's conclusions.

"I think they were made before he saw me and his mind was made up," he said.

The man told court he would only undergo substance abuse counselling if he was guaranteed he would regain custody of his children.

Janovcik attacked the man's spotty work record and his "newfound" stability as a security guard.

Threatened

According to a Workers Compensation Board file, the man was fired from one job after he threatened to harm his co-workers if they told he was lying about an alleged wrist injury. The man only admitted he was fired after several minutes of prodding, claiming confusion over whether he was "technically" fired or just laid off.

The man claimed he has been working close to full-time as a security guard for the past seven or eight months.

Janovcik said an analysis of his employment records show he has worked the equivalent of just 11 weeks in the past six months. During that time he was removed from one hotel job site after he allegedly used a racial slur to describe a bar patron.

Asked when he last worked, the man said: "I honestly don't have a clue."

dean.pritchard@sunmedia.ca