A man from Saskatchewan has lost his appeal against the conviction and sentencing for abducting his daughter to prevent her from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal rendered its decision after a hearing in Regina last month.
Michael Gordon Jackson was found guilty of parental child abduction by a jury following a trial at the Regina Court of King’s Bench in 2024. He was sentenced to one year in jail and two years of probation, but due to credit for time served on remand, he did not have to serve additional time in custody.
The incident occurred when Jackson picked up his seven-year-old daughter from school for scheduled parenting time in November 2021 but failed to return her to her mother as agreed upon five days later. The child was eventually returned after more than three months when Jackson was arrested in British Columbia.
During the trial, Jackson expressed concerns that his ex-wife would vaccinate their daughter against COVID-19, believing the vaccine to be unsafe. The mother held final decision-making authority on health matters based on a prior court ruling following a family law trial also held at the Regina Court of King’s Bench.
Jackson attempted to argue the defense of necessity at his criminal trial, claiming he acted to prevent imminent harm and due to distrust in the court system. However, the trial judge dismissed this argument, stating it lacked credibility and did not present it to the jury.
The appeal court upheld the judge’s ruling, emphasizing that individuals cannot take matters into their own hands in defiance of court orders. Justice Jerome Tholl, along with Justices Naheed Bardai and Keith Kilback, agreed that the appeal failed on this basis. Additionally, Jackson’s appeal of his sentence was also dismissed by the court, as he had not raised certain issues during the sentencing and the contempt proceedings were unrelated to the criminal case.