“On March 16 Robert Hoogland was arrested at the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver for speaking against court-ordered testosterone injections for his teenage daughter. Hoogland was denied bail, and Justice Michael Tammen issued an oral decision last Friday confining Hoogland to prison until his case is tried April 12-16, 2021. [Note: Hoogland pled guilty on April 13 and accepted “a sentence of 18 months probation with one month off to reflect the time he has already spent in custody.” He was facing a potential five years in prison.] Hoogland’s arrest has garnered significant attention, nationally and internationally, and prompted an online petition for his release. As previously reported, the BC Supreme Court [in February 2019] ordered that Hoogland’s daughter should begin receiving testosterone injections when she was 14 years old, regardless of parental consent. The court further declared that if either of the girl’s parents referred to her ‘as a girl or with female pronouns,’ that parent would be considered guilty of family violence. Desperate to get his story heard, Hoogland began granting interviews to The Federalist and other outlets in February 2020 in which he criticized by name the doctors involved in prescribing his daughter’s cross-sex hormones. ‘What kind of father would I be if, let’s say in 5, 10 years my daughter is detransitioning, and she turns to me and says. “Why did none of you do anything to stop this? I was a child. None of you stuck your neck out for me back then. You just let me do it because I was an immature kid, thinking this was something great,”’ he said in an interview. ‘When my daughter asks me that question, I’ll say I did everything that I possibly could. Whatever happens to me pales in comparison to what’s already happened to my daughter,’ he said. The Vancouver Cybercrime Unit compiled a lengthy police report documenting when Hoogland referred to his daughter ‘as his daughter’ and noting that he ‘[used] female pronouns numerous times.’ The cybercrime report also underscored numerous interviews in which Hoogland criticized by name the doctors involved in giving his daughter testosterone. Towards the end of the hearing on Friday, Hoogland raised his hand to speak. ‘I do love my child. That’s why I did this. I did what I thought was right.’ In an interview shortly before his arrest, Hoogland said what others can do about his case is: ‘Pray–anybody can pray.’ And, ‘Educate people. Tell people what’s going on. Talk to your neighbor and say, Hey, this is what’s going on in the world. To even do a simple thing like that; that’s commendable; that’s courage to me. To even do a simple thing like that.’”
“Canadian Father,” Conservative Review, Mar. 26, 2021