The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of Michael Gordon Jackson, who was convicted of abducting his own daughter in an attempt to prevent her from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The unanimous decision, released on May 14, 2026, upheld both his conviction and one-year sentence.
Background of the Case
Jackson, a resident of Carievale, Saskatchewan, was found guilty by a jury on April 19, 2024, of abduction in contravention of a parenting order. The charge stemmed from events between December 6, 2021, and January 21, 2022, when he took his seven-year-old daughter without legal authority. Police located Jackson and the girl in Vernon, British Columbia, in late February 2022. At trial, Jackson testified that he acted to prevent the child from being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Sentencing Details
On December 6, 2024, Jackson received a one-year custodial sentence. Due to credit for time served on remand, his jail term was deemed complete, but he was also placed on probation for two years.
Appeal Arguments Rejected
Jackson appealed, arguing that the trial judge, Justice Heather MacMillan-Brown, erred by not instructing the jury on the defence of necessity. This defence justifies breaking the law to avoid imminent harm, provided certain conditions are met, including the absence of a viable legal alternative.
The Crown argued that Jackson could have sought a court order rather than abducting his daughter. Jackson claimed he lacked time and had lost faith in the court system, but the Appeal Court found these reasons legally insufficient. Justice Jerome Tholl, writing for the panel of Justices Naheed Bardai and Keith Kilback, stated: "A jury could not reasonably conclude that illegally abducting and concealing the child from the child's other parent was a reasonable option in the face of a viable legal alternative in the form of a court application."
No Error by Trial Judge
The court determined that the defence of necessity had no "air of reality" in Jackson's case, meaning a properly instructed jury could not have acquitted him on that basis. Therefore, the trial judge did not err in omitting the instruction. Tholl emphasized that the ruling does not imply acceptance of imminent harm or proportionality in Jackson's actions.
The decision marks the end of Jackson's legal challenges, as his conviction and sentence stand.
