The man’s visitation rights have been suspended until February, unless he gets vaccinated
An unvaccinated father in Canada has temporarily lost the right to see his 12-year-old child after a judge ruled it’d be in the boy’s “best interests”.
According to Le Devoir newspaper, the decision marks the first ruling that deprives a parent from accessing their own child based on immunisation grounds – as reported by the BBC.
The judge’s decision – which was made late last month in the Quebec province – follows complaints from the boy’s mother who wasn’t happy with the boy’s father and his request to extend his visitation time when she discovered that he was unvaccinated.
It’s also believed that the man used his social media accounts to share his anti-vaccine opinions.
As it stands, Canada has seen 2.66 million confirmed cases of covid since the pandemic first started, with in excess of 31,000 deaths.
More than 77 per cent of the population are currently vaccinated, with 72.5 million doses of the vaccine delivered however this wasn’t enough to convince the unnamed father to take up the offer and get himself jabbed.
The boy’s mother lives with her partner and two other children, both of whom are too young to be vaccinated.
Due to a spike in cases in Quebec – an area which has recorded the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in the whole of Canada – the judge presiding over the case deemed that it was not “in the child’s best interest to have contact with their father.”
The ruling is believed to be the first of its kind in the world and suspends the man’s visitation rights until February unless he gets vaccinated. Only 12 per cent of Canadians remain ineligible for a vaccine and yet they make up more than a quarter of all of the country’s hospital cases.
The news comes shortly after Canada revealed that it would be enforcing “significant” fines on all those who refuse to get vaccinated and do not have a medical exception.
Speaking to CNN, Quebec Premier François Legault said: “Right now, these people, they put a very important burden on our health care network, and I think it’s normal that the majority of the population is asking that there be a consequence… it’s a question also of fairness for the 90% of the population who made some sacrifices – and I think we owe them this kind of measure.”
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