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Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar marked Fa­ther’s Day with a call for shared re­spon­si­bil­i­ty in par­ent­ing and recog­ni­tion of the deep emo­tion­al role fa­thers play in shap­ing both fam­i­lies and the na­tion.

In her first Fa­ther’s Day mes­sage since be­ing re-elect­ed, Per­sad-Bisses­sar de­scribed fa­ther­hood as “one of life’s most sa­cred re­spon­si­bil­i­ties,” not­ing that it should not be de­fined sole­ly by bi­ol­o­gy, but by “pres­ence, sac­ri­fice, lead­er­ship, and love.”

“A fa­ther’s in­flu­ence in a child’s life is im­mea­sur­able,” she said. “It lays the foun­da­tion for emo­tion­al strength, self-worth, and dis­ci­pline—and by ex­ten­sion, for build­ing strong, re­spect­ful, and pro­duc­tive cit­i­zens.”