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What would you do if your child was abducted and taken to another country? While this may seem unimaginable, for some British Columbians it is an experience they have had to deal with first-hand.
On Dec. 1, 2013, B.C. will mark the 30th anniversary of the coming into force of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This is an international treaty designed to protect children from the harmful effects of being wrongfully removed from their usual place of residence. The Convention establishes procedures for parents to seek the return of their children when they have been wrongfully removed from Canada or to seek access to their children across international borders.
Since 2010, B.C. has assisted in more than 50 cases involving children who were abducted from the province. Under B.C.'s new Family Law Act, more parents may be able to use the Convention to seek the return of their children as the Act generally allows parents who no longer live with a child after a separation to remain the child's guardian.
The steps listed below may assist in preventing abduction:
- Take threats to leave or to abduct a child seriously.
- Keep records or copies of a child's passport number and travel documents and the passport number and travel documents of the other parent, if possible.
- Maintain recent photos of the child and the other parent, if possible.
- Obtain a non-removal order, if appropriate.
- Seek supervised contact for the other parent or party, if appropriate.
- Contact Passport Canada (www.passportcanada.gc.ca/) and ask to place the child's name and date of birth on the passport alert system.
- If the child has or is eligible for dual citizenship, write the local consulate of the other country and provide them with any court order restricting the child's travel or your written objection to a passport being issued by that country for the child.
- If you are permitting travel by the child to another country for a limited period of time, both parents should sign a document that clearly outlines the purposes and duration of the travel.
- If the child is to be taken to a country which does not apply the Hague Convention, consider seeking legal advice before the child leaves B.C.
- Seek a bond or surety to be paid in the event a removal or retention occurs; the money may assist the left-behind parent with legal and travel costs.
All members of the Convention have a central authority responsible for managing Convention cases in that territory. Penny Lipsack, a lawyer with the Ministry of Justice, is the central authority for B.C. capable of providing information and assistance concerning the safe return of a child. She may be contacted at 250 356-8433 or: Penelope.Lipsack@gov.bc.ca
The Convention was developed in the 1970s at Canada's suggestion in response to the increasing number of parental abductions occurring at the time. Approximately 90 countries are party to the Convention.
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