In the Great White North, your fundamental rights aren’t quite as fundamental as they are under the American Constitution. That’s a lesson that’s no doubt sinking in for one man who dared to attempt to exercise some parental control over his 14-year-old daughter when she announced that she now “identifies” as a boy. After refusing to address her by a new name or with male pronouns, the child took her case to court. And now a judge has ordered the father to stop “misgendering” her on pain of jail time. (From our new colleagues at PJ Media)

Last month, the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued an order that a father (referred to by the pseudonym “Clark”) may not refer to his 14-year-old daughter (pseudonym “Maxine”) as a girl or by her original name, whether in public or in private. Doing so has been ruled to constitute “family violence” because Maxine identifies as a boy. According to a separate protection order, police may immediately arrest Clark if they suspect he violated this Orwellian order. Justice Francesca Marzari ruled that any attempt to persuade Maxine that she is a girl constitutes “family violence” because it would cause her “psychological abuse in the form of harassment or coercion.” Since she is receiving “treatment” for gender dysphoria (the persistent identification with the gender opposite her biological sex), any encouragement to reconsider that “treatment” is considered violence. Clark “shall be restrained from: attempting to persuade [Maxine] to abandon treatment for gender dysphoria; addressing [Maxine] by his birth name; and referring to [Maxine] as a girl or with female pronouns whether to [Maxine] directly or to third parties.” The order will last for one year.

Just imagine how that must feel. If the child is truly suffering from gender dysphoria (and not just cultural influences from her peer group), the family has enough on their plate already. She doesn’t need “transition” therapy. She needs actual medical help from a trained psychiatrist. But instead of being able to focus on that, the father is marched into court and informed that if he calls his daughter by her legal name or even refers to her as a girl, he will be subject to immediate arrest and confinement.

That’s one heck of a legal system you’ve got going up there, Canada. And you classify trying to raise your children properly as “family violence” now? Having seen the results of actual family violence here in America, I can assure you that this is an insult to all real victims.

And as I mentioned above, this might not even require medical intervention to provide the young girl with effective help. Actual cases of clinical gender dysphoria are extremely rare. What’s been becoming obvious in recent years is that instances such as this one, particularly involving teenage girls, can often turn out to be a case of what’s being described as Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD). The peer pressure that young people are under these days is daunting, and the pervasive influence of the internet, social media echo chambers and handheld devices can amplify the influences they are subjected to.

Small wonder then that an increasing number of children are suddenly “discovering” that they are transgender, frequently to the horror of their parents. But for at least one family in Canada, there was no relief to be found from the courts. Only a threat of jail time for discussing the subject sanely with their child.