Man must travel to Prince Albert to visit infant son

Court 'empathetic' that infant not travel for visits: lawyer

The StarPhoenix, by Lana Haight, Friday, November 10, 2006

A Saskatoon man will have to travel to Prince Albert if he wants to continue seeing his infant son.

"We weren't opposed to having (the visits) occur in Prince Albert. The problem was getting them started," said Mark Vanstone, the man's lawyer.

"Now that that's been addressed, he's delighted to see his son." The man, who cannot be named because of a publication ban, learned last spring his former girlfriend was pregnant with his child. His paternity has been proven by a DNA test. Not wanting to keep the child, the mother gave a Prince Albert couple custody of the baby after he was born in April. The Saskatoon man has been fighting for custody of the baby ever since.

In early October, Saskatoon family court Judge Sean Smith ordered the man be allowed to see his son for one hour once a week at the Children's Haven in Prince Albert. But by the end of the month, the father still hadn't seen his son.

He returned to court and another family court judge ordered the visits occur in Saskatoon, pending a custody trial scheduled for Dec. 18. Judge Jacelyn Ann Ryan-Froslie's order also states the dad is free to hold his boy, kiss him and take his photo, as long as the pictures are not published or given to the media. The Prince Albert couple cannot be present during the visits.

The day before the first visit under that order was to take place, the couple appealed the family court judgment, triggering an automatic stay that froze the ruling.

On Wednesday, Saskatchewan Court of Appeal Judge Gene Anne Smith lifted the stay, but ordered the visits occur in Prince Albert, not Saskatoon.

"The court was pretty emphatic that it should not be the infant that is travelling back and forth for two hours every Saturday morning in the winter," said Dale Blenner-Hassett, the lawyer for the couple, who also cannot be named.

"It should be the father that travels." That works for the dad, especially since he had his first visit with his son on Nov. 2 in Prince Albert.

"My client's first priority was to ensure that he had meaningful access with his son. He never intended to inconvenience the couple or the son," said Vanstone.

In addition to ensuring visits take place, the appeal court decision means the custody trial slated for Dec. 18 will go ahead, although Blenner-Hassett has expressed concern he may not be able to fully prepare the couple's case by then.

"Delay in our view will be very undesirable," said Vanstone.

The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2006