Government meddling. Judge lifts 12-year-old's grounding

The Gatineau father of a 12-year-old girl who won a court decision overruling a paternal punishment is appealing the decision, his lawyer said yesterday.

The girl took her father to Quebec Superior Court after he said she couldn't go on a school trip for disobeying his orders to stay off the Internet.

I don't know what is more ridiculous: that the judge imposed their decision the parent, or that this made it to court at all. The parent did not break the law in any way in disciplining their child, and were entirely within their rights (and responsibilities) to ground their child. The judge had no business whatsoever in meddling with this situation.

If this ruling isn't overturned, it will set a legal precedent for the authorities to impose their will on the private lives of Canadians. What if a parent decides that they don't want their children to use the Internet at all? Or watch TV? What if they decide they don't want their kids to go to church?

The Canadian government has no business whatsoever dictating to parents how they should raise their children, as long as those parents remain within the bounds of the law. If this wasn't so serious an issue, I would laugh at the joke our legal system has apparently become.