Sask. father who kept daughter from mom to prevent COVID-19 vaccine free from additional prison time

Michael Gordon Jackson, the Saskatchewan father who withheld his then seven-year-old daughter from her mom for nearly 100 days to prevent the girl from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, was handed a 12-month prison sentence and 200 days probation on Friday.

Jackson was credited for time served, which was 541 days while on remand, meaning he will not spend another day behind bars for the case.

“He will be free to go today subject to the terms of the probation order,” Justice MacMillan-Brown said.

One of the terms of Jackson’s probation is no contact with his daughter and her mother, who is also his ex-wife. He was also handed 100 hours of community service.

Last spring, Jackson was found guilty of contravention of a custody order following two weeks of court proceedings.

Jackson did not return his daughter to her mother, his ex-wife, in November 2021 and disappeared with the child until February of 2022.

He was found with his daughter by police in Vernon, B.C.

Jackson, 55, was granted bail in February 2023.

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“Jackson forced [his daughter] away from all that she knew in her everyday life, her mother, her home, her friends, her school, her community for three and a half months,” MacMillian Brown said in her decision. “Even if he had the best of intentions, Mr. Jackson's actions have ramifications not only within the family law realm, but also within this the criminal realm.”

During sentencing submissions, Jackson claimed the time away from his daughter and jail time already served was enough punishment, and said that while behind bars other inmates meddled with his food and staff "trashed" his living space during searches of his cell.

The Crown was seeking a two-year prison sentence with credit for time served on remand, plus three years of probation and 200 hours of community service. 

“It's rare either side ever gets exactly what they’ve argued for,” Crown Prosecutor Zoe Kim-Zeggelaar told reporters following the decision Friday. “That's the point of argument. If we could agree on all of it all the time, there wouldn't be much argument.”

Justice MacMillian-Brown outlined in her reasoning for imposing a prison sentence Jackson showed no remorse for his actions.

“It's clear Mr. Jackson sees himself as a martyr,” the judge said. “What he fails to see is the harm that he inflicted by tearing [his daughter] from her mother, and everything [she] knew in her day to day life.”

Kim-Zeggelaar added the sentencing in this case sets a precedent for similar cases across Canada.

“The focus on sentencing in these cases is on denunciation and deterrence,” she said. “These cases are intended to send the message to say that court orders in family law must be obeyed.”

“And [the judge’s] words were unequivocal to that effect,” Kim-Zeggelaar added.

Jackson did not provide comment in court or to reporters Friday.

Further to the non-contact order, court-ordered sanctions include reporting to a probation officer and remaining in Saskatchewan, unless granted permission by the court. As well as maintaining the current custody order in place, which gives the mother sole custody and decision-making abilities.