A sentencing decision for a Saskatchewan father who withheld his seven-year-old daughter from her mother for more than 100 days in 2021 and 2022 in an attempt to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine is now in the hands of a Court of King’s Bench judge.

Michael Gordon Jackson, 55, was found guilty of contravention or a custody order by a jury following two weeks of court proceedings in April.

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

Jackson, who represented himself throughout the proceedings, initially delayed announcing his sentence submission in August after saying he never received the Crown’s nor his Amicus’ submission briefs until arriving at court the morning of.

Justice Heather MacMillian-Brown, who is preceding over the case, allowed Jackson to August 19 to bring his submissions.

There, he voiced his belief spending more than two and a half years apart from his daughter has been punishment enough.

Jackson then went on to detail allegations of mistreatment he received while being held on remand. Testifing under oath that during his time behind bars he was singled out saying other inmates meddled with his food and that his cell was trashed by guards during searches.

Crown Prosecutor Zoe Kim-Zeggelaar asked for an adjournment before completing a cross examination in order to review the testimony and potentially investigate the claims further.

Back in court

When court resumed Monday, Kim-Zeggelaar notified the judge she felt no further cross examination would be needed.

“What appeared to be where [Jackson] was going with the evidence ultimately was not where the evidence ended up,” she said.

Jackson challenged the Crown saying he expected further investigation.

“I find it strange my hearing was stopped, delayed two months and only days later [she] said, ‘no, we’re not going to do anything,” he told the judge.

“It would have been unfair for me as the trial judge, working in the best interest of justice, to write a decision not taking [the allegations] into account,” Justice MacMillian-Brown responded. “That’s why I told you, ‘if you want me to consider this, you’ll have to take the stand.”

“The allegations were serious and the Crown was not expecting them … it’s entirely up to the Crown as to whether she was going to cross-examine and further or call any witnesses,” she added.

“It’s unjust the way you handled that situation,” Jackson claimed.

Sentencing submissions

Jackson reiterated Monday he has faced more than enough punishment for his actions.

“Any probation given out after everything I just presented is only to further punish me with zero benefits for any of the parties involved,” he argued. “I also do not support nor understand the reasoning behind the crowns request.”

Jackson likened his situation to that of Dawn Walker, a Sask. mother who faked her and her son’s death to flee to Oregon.

She was handed a 12-month conditional sentence, following 18 months of probation for contravention of a custody order, among other charges.

“I was shocked the Crown wants more jail time and wants to set an example [of me],” Jackson said. “Yet the same court system in the same province does nothing for this woman for what she did.”

“I think this shows the Crown has undue bias against me,” he added.

During his argument Jackson suggested this case could set a precedent for similar cases around the world.

“This case is one of the first cases globally that addresses all of the legal and practical aspects surrounding protection of children worldwide,” he said.

In her reply, Kim-Zeggelaar argued Jackson has ‘unwavering in his reasoning’ and warned he may offend again if not incarcerated.

“Mr. Jackson has painted himself a martyr to his noble and righteous motives,” she said. “And would have this court conclude, ‘if your motives are pure, he ought not receive some credit for that.”

“There is risk here. If the conditions were the same and he thinks he needs to do it again, he will,” Kim-Zeggelaar added.

Conditional sentence possibility

Justice MacMillian-Brown has said this case has the potential to be “ripe for a conditional sentence order (CSO).”

A conditional sentence is served in the community, not behind bars, often with several restrictions in place.

Both Jackson and the Crown disagree with a CSO, but for the differing reasons as laid out in both sides sentencing submissions.

However, should the judge impose a conditional sentence, the Crown is seeking the orders to include Jackson report and maintain an address, a curfew, a probation on possessing firearms, drugs, or alcohol as well as maintaining the current court-imposed non-contract order with his ex-wife and daughter.

Justice MacMillian-Brown will issue her sentence on Dec. 6.

SaskPower is warning customers of an email scam currently making the rounds.

In a news release Monday, the Crown corporation said its getting constant calls regarding fraudulent emails.

At first glance, the email looks legitimate and claims to be from a SaskPower Carbon Council.

The email informs the customer of a large deposit being e-transferred to them from the Government of Saskatchewan.

“SaskPower does not send e-transfers and encourages customers to always check the email address the email is being sent from,” the warning read.

SaskPower urges any customers who have clicked the link in the email to contact law enforcement immediately.

Regina police are asking the public for help as it searches for a suspect involved in an assault in the North Central area on Sunday.

At around 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 20, officers were dispatched to a home on the 1100 block of Retallack Street for a report of an assault in progress.

Officers arrived at the scene and discovered the victim, an adult man, suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.

He was taken to hospital by paramedics.

The suspect had fled the scene prior to the officers’ arrival. Police said the suspect headed south and east down 4th Avenue.

Regina police encourage anyone with information regarding this incident to contact the service or submit a tip to Crime Stoppers.

A construction firm has pled guilty in the case of a serious workplace injury in 2023 near Moose Jaw.

The company, Bakke Contracting Ltd. pled guilty in Moose Jaw provincial court to one violation of occupational health and safety regulations.

Bakke was fined for contravening clause 3-1 (a) which outlines an employer failing to maintain working environments that ensure the health and safety of its workers.

The court imposed a fine of $89,285.71 with a surcharge of $35,714.29 for a total amount of $125,000.

Four other charges were withdrawn.

The charges were in relation to an incident on Feb. 20, 2023 near Brownlee, Sask. which saw a worker seriously injured when they fell from an elevated platform.

Bakke Contracting Ltd. is based out of Mortlach, Sask. which is located about 40 kilometres west of Moose Jaw.

The RCMP says a 32-year-old Saskatchewan woman has been charged with criminal negligence and impaired driving after causing a fatal collision in the wrong lane of Highway 11.

Officers from the Saskatoon RCMP detachment were called to the scene of the collision, on Highway 11 one kilometre north of Dundurn, just before 10 p.m. on Saturday, the RCMP said in a news release.

Police say a truck was driving north in the southbound lanes of the highway and collided with an SUV. The driver and passenger of the SUV were declared dead at the scene. They’ve been identified as a 50-year-old woman and 20-year-old woman from Lake Isle, Alberta.

The RCMP said their families have been notified.

Two children who were passengers in the truck sustained injuries the RCMP describes as non-life-threatening and were taken to hospital for treatment. The driver, 32-year-old Brittany Barry from the RM of Blucher, was not injured.

Barry faces charges for impaired driving causing death and bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm, and four counts of criminal negligence.

The RCMP says investigators believe there are witnesses to the collision who they have not spoken to. Anyone who witnessed the crash at the scene and hasn’t yet talked to police is asked to call the Saskatoon detachment.

The Regina Police Service has charged a 17-year-old in connection to a stabbing that occurred outside a downtown business.

Officers were dispatched to the 1800 block of Osler Street at around 8:40 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18.

Information received by police outlined that a resident had been stabbed outside the front doors of a business in the area.

Police arrived at the scene and spoke with the victim, who provided officers with a description of the suspect.

The following night, officers found a suspect who matched the description near 11 Avenue and Halifax Street. He was arrested, with officers discovering a knife in the suspect’s possession.

As a result, a 17-year-old male faces the charges of assault with a weapon and failing to comply with disposition.

The accused made his first appearance in provincial court youth court on Monday.

The University Health Network (UHN) is making masks mandatory as respiratory illness season ramps up.

Starting on Oct. 28, visitors to UHN sites will need to wear a mask when receiving or waiting for care.

“This requirement applies to patients, visitors, and staff. You must also still wear a mask in areas where many patients may be at a higher risk of illness,” the hospital network said in a note posted on its website.

Masks will still be optional in common areas such as lobbies and food courts.

UHN includes Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto Rehab, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and other sites.

Dr. Susy Hota, medical director of infection prevention and control at UHN, told CP24 Monday that the masking policy is aimed at trying to head off the next wave of infection going into winter.

“We really wanted to be ahead of the curve in terms of when we expect respiratory viruses to really be taking off,” Hota said. “And looking at what the trends were like last year, for example, we really noticed a lot more respiratory virus activity with COVID-19, influenza, and RSV, which is another common respiratory virus, as of November.”

She said that that the masking policy is a tool which will be adjusted throughout the season as needed.

“We anticipate, again, looking at what we see in previous years, that by the end of February, the respiratory viruses should be coming down a little bit in terms of the prevalence,” Hota said. “So we will be looking at the trends over time, reevaluating when would be an appropriate time.”

The hospital network said UHN-approved medical masks will be available at all entrances, outpatient clinics and inpatient units.

Hospitals have been plagued in recent years by staff shortages, which have been made worse by the spread of illness among staff, particularly respiratory illnesses such as flu and COVID-19.

While the level of transmission for various respiratory illnesses is not high at the moment, Hota said, this is the time when preventative actions can help curb infections in the months ahead.

“We are seeing a steady, low-to-moderate level of respiratory viruses in the hospital system, in health-care settings, and of course within the community,” Hota said. “But you know, things are manageable right now. This is our time for action to do the prevention that we have control over, like masking and vaccinating, etc.”

Ontario is also starting to roll out distribution of the flu vaccine and the updated COVID-19 vaccine this month.

Notice of Broadcast Disruption – July 3, 2024

On July 3, 2024, at 10:49 PM, Broadcast Center 01 experienced a power outage due to a passing thunderstorm. To safeguard our equipment from potential power surges, we decided to temporarily suspend our broadcasts. This interruption affected Z103.5, 979 The Cowboy, and 101 The Rockhound.

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