WINNIPEG–People who hold racist views, associate with neo-Nazis and teach their children white pride can still be good parents, a lawyer told a Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench judge yesterday.

"You can fundamentally be a racist ... but the point is, people's beliefs are legal in Canada," Catherine Dunn said on behalf of a man fighting to regain custody of his two children.

"He has a right to care for his children."

The court battle centres on two children who were seized last year from their home after one showed up at her elementary school with racist slogans and symbols drawn on her skin in permanent marker.

Manitoba Child and Family Services is seeking permanent guardianship of the children, but the father is fighting the move, saying the seizure violates his freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The agency says the markings were just the tip of the iceberg in what it alleges was a dysfunctional home. One social worker said the girl calmly described how black people could be killed with a ball and chain.

The department accuses the father and his now-estranged wife of neglecting their children, frequently failing to bring the daughter to school as well as abusing drugs and alcohol. It also says they raised the children in a filthy home filled with neo-Nazi items.

The government argues the Charter of Rights does not allow parents to mark their children with controversial slogans.

"An attempt to convey meaning by using another person's body without his or her consent falls outside of the scope of expression that is protected (under the charter)," government lawyer Deborah Carlson said.

But Dunn pointed out the mother admitted earlier in the trial to drawing the markings on her daughter. She said the father never let his beliefs expose the children to potential harm.