LGBT activists and their supporters rally in support of
transgender people on the steps of New York City Hall, in New York City,
October 24, 2018. | Getty Images/Drew Angerer
A Canadian father jailed for contempt of court
after voicing objections to his teenage daughter being prescribed testosterone
as part of an experimental gender transition was denied bail and isn't expected
to be released until next month.
Sources close to the situation told The Christian Post that Robert Hoogland of
British Columbia was denied bail during court proceedings Friday, where
his attorney asked that the arrest warrant be voided and that
he be released because the detention is unlawful. The warrant was issued
earlier this month and Hoogland was arrested last Tuesday for publicly
revealing his identity.
Hoogland, who is referred to as "CD" in court documents, has long
objected to his daughter undergoing a medicalized gender-transition, which
includes taking cross-sex hormones.
According to reports, his daughter has suffered
from several complex issues, all of which were attributed to gender confusion.
She was referred to an endocrinology unit at a local hospital at the
recommendation of psychologist Wallace Wong, a known proponent of transgender
affirmation.
The court reportedly chastised Hoogland for breaching an order that required
his identity to remain concealed from the public. The father's name appears on
a GoGetFunding crowdfunding page, which breached the court order. Hoogland was
warned that if his name wasn't removed from the page before his upcoming trial,
then it would "not go well for him," a source told CP.
However, the court denied Hoogland's request to
be released for two days so that he could remove his name from the crowdfunding
page and other sites by using his home computer.
A five-day trial for Hoogland on a similar but separate contempt of court
charge is scheduled to begin on April 12. During that trial, Hoogland is
expected to be allowed to share his side of the story unrestrained by orders
restricting his freedom of speech, according to sources.
While he doesn't want to be incarcerated,
Hoogland was aware that because of his efforts to protect his daughter's
welfare, it was unavoidable, say those close to the matter.
In a January court decision in Hoogland's case, the presiding justices wrote that his refusal to go along with his child's
"gender identity" was "troublesome,” and that it had caused
“significant pain” that has “resulted in a rupture of what both parties refer
to as an otherwise loving parent-child relationship."
Hoogland had petitioned the court to adjourn the
trial on the second criminal contempt of court charge until after judgment on
the prior Notice of Application scheduled for April 12.
Last week, his attorney argued that the Canadian
government's position to keep him in police custody with the foreknowledge that
a trial would not be held specifically concerning the March 16 arrest is an
abuse of his liberties under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
particularly the legal rights listed in the Constitution Act of 1982.
The attorney working on behalf of the attorney
general of British Columbia responded, both in open court and on the record,
advising Hoogland’s attorney that there was never any intention to proceed with
a trial with respect to the arrest and criminal contempt charges against
Hoogland.
Sources told CP that Hoogland’s attorney maintains that the conscious decision
to violate his charter freedoms “is the very definition of arbitrary” and for
law enforcement “to obtain a warrant from a Supreme Court justice without
advising there was no intention to have a trial, is to mislead the court.”
News Source: Christian Post
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