The father who had temporarily lost his rights of access to his son just before the holiday season because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 will finally be able to see him again.
Judge Anne-Marie Paquette of the Superior Court has just given him back the right to spend time with his 12-year-old teenager.
After seeing his access rights temporarily suspended until the beginning of February, the father returned to court to have this decision overturned.
This suspension is “draconian”, and undermines his parent-child bond, he pleaded Tuesday before Judge Paquette.
He lamented being given the label of “conspirator” by the teenager’s mother.
The father clarified that he consented to the vaccination for the child, but confirms “that he himself is not vaccinated and that no change is in sight in this regard”, it is reported by the judge in her decision. He added that he respects the sanitary measures recommended by public health – except vaccination.
For her part, the mother argued that the contact of her son with his father increases the risk of contamination of the child, who could also bring the virus back to his household: she lives there with her spouse and they have two young children. , which cannot be vaccinated.
The judge postponed the debate on certain aspects of this case: “Does the father adhere to the conspiracy theories or not? Does it respect public health recommendations or not? This is the subject of evidence which is disputed and which the Court is not in a position to decide at this stage, based on the fragmentary evidence available”.
She preferred to refocus the legal debate based on the criterion provided for by law: is it in the best interest of this teenager to have contact with his father, in the circumstances of the two families?
However, the epidemiological situation has evolved since December 23, when the father’s access rights were suspended, writes the magistrate. In December, Public Health was very concerned about the progress of the Omicron variant and a series of restrictive measures had been put in place to slow down the contamination, which had weighed in the balance of the previous judge.
Currently, the teenager goes to school and rubs shoulders with many students and teachers there, notes Judge Paquette, who also notes that the Quebec government announced on Tuesday, the same day of the hearing, a deconfinement schedule which signals a improvement of the situation in Quebec.
“The Court considers, in the current circumstances, in particular the epidemiological situation which currently prevails, that it is not in the best interest of the child to be cut off from all personal contact with his father. The detrimental effect of such a cut on the maintenance and development of the father-child relationship would, in the current context, be greater than the risks that the mother exposes and which nevertheless remain real”.
The judge also noted in her judgment the father’s commitment to respect the sanitary measures recommended by Public Health, such as distancing and hygiene.
It therefore authorizes the resumption of access rights, by granting the father the period of the spring break to make up for lost time.