In the Canadian province of Quebec, a court has temporarily withdrawn custody of his child from a father who was skeptical of vaccinations. In the decision of December 23, it is said that it is not in the “best interests” of the child to “have contact with his father if he is not vaccinated and speaks out against health measures in the current epidemiological situation”.
The father had originally requested that his custody of the twelve-year-old be extended over the Christmas holidays and the New Year. However, the judge waived all of his rights until February unless he still decides to get a vaccination.
The judge found that statements made by the father on Internet platforms showed “that he apparently speaks out against vaccinations and health measures”. The protection of the child against the coronavirus is therefore not guaranteed, even in view of the highly contagious Omikron variant.
In addition, the mother lives with her spouse and her two other children, aged seven months and four years, who are not vaccinated, as vaccination in Canada is only possible from the age of five. “Under these circumstances, it is not in the interests of one of the three children” that the father can see the twelve-year-old child “at this point in time,” emphasized the judge.
Québec has seen a sharp increase in infections and hospital admissions for several weeks due to the rapid spread of the Omikron variant. More than 90 percent of Québec adults are vaccinated. The French-speaking province has decided to crack down on those who refuse to be vaccinated and will soon introduce a new tax that will only apply to unvaccinated people. Unvaccinated people are also banned from alcohol and cannabis shops in the province.