The biological father of a baby boy whose mother gave him to another couple will not get custody of the child, a Saskatchewan judge has decided.

Instead, in a case that made headlines across the country last year and attracted the interest of fathers'-rights advocates, the boy will stay with the couple with whom he has been living since he was born, Queen's Bench Justice Shawn Smith ruled Monday.

The decision was a vindication, the lawyer representing the couple said, while for the father, it was a crushing blow.

"I wasn't trying to win father-of-the-year award or anything like that. I was just trying to be a father," the man said, adding he's unsure if he'll appeal the court's decision.

In his 35-page decision, Smith said he decided "without hesitation" the boy's best interests are with the couple that wants to adopt the now nine-month-old.

"It is clear that they present an environment that will best provide for his health, education, emotional well-being, opportunity for training and economic and intellectual pursuits," Smith said.

The judge also said the parties should get together to allow the father some access to the child.

During the custody trial in Saskatoon late last year, court heard the father never cohabited with the mother, but briefly had an intimate relationship with her. The relationship ended following an incident in which the man had been drinking alcohol and struck her, court was told.

When she learned she was pregnant, she made arrangements for the couple in another Saskatchewan community to take custody of the child. The woman felt she couldn't raise the child herself and said she didn't know the man was the father, having been told previously he was sterile.

The couple, described in the court decision as "educated, mature and well-grounded" people, now hope to adopt the baby boy.
 
The father found out about the plan shortly before the child was born and applied to the court for sole custody. He obtained a DNA test that proved he was the father.

The boy's grandmother offered a third option to the courts. She said she should have custody to ensure that the boy is raised in a way that respects his First Nations heritage. She didn't want the child raised by a non-biological family.

Under a court order, the names of the people involved in the case cannot be published.

Allegations were flying on both sides during the trial, including a suggestion the couple paid the mother. The judge said there was no evidence of that.

'Unfolding lives of real people'

"Although this case has generated considerable heartache and stress, it cannot, in a fair-minded way, be said that any party has been in the wrong," Smith said in the decision.

"Although lives have been disrupted, the turmoil arose from the often complex circumstances that flow from the unfolding lives of real people."

Dale Blenner-Hassett, the lawyer representing the family that has been granted custody of the boy, said the ruling serves as vindication for the family.  

"It means that they've been essentially cleared by the judicial system of any wrongdoing that had been alleged against them," Blenner-Hassett said. "The decision is very clear in the court's view of our clients and who they are — good decent people that they are — and the kind of home that they can provide to their son."