Legal Question in Family Law in Canada
International kidnapping
A friend of mine gave permission for her childs father to take their child to canada to visit. It has been a year and he refuses to give her her daughter back. They are meeting today at the border so she can see her child, and she wants to bring her home. We talked with the police at the border about the consequences of taking her child back to the US and they said they did not know. How does my friend get her child back without going through the tedious process of the Hague Convention? Since she has custody (shared) over their child can't she just grab the child and bring her home? How do we charge him with kidnapping while he lives in canada since he did not send a certified letter stating his intentions within the alotted 60 days?
She wants her child back ASAP and any help would be appreciated.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: International kidnapping
This answer applies to British Columbia only. Please note that not all States and Provinces have the same law. We do not understnad what you mean about a certified letter within 60 days; also you have not given enough information to provide an answer. You state that the parents have shared custody, it would be necessary to examine a copy of the Order. As it has been a year, the "habitual residence" of the child may have chnaged, and as well it would be necessary to have all of the correspondence, demands or requests that she made during the year in order to give an answer. As to charging the father, do not threaten any criminal action. This may well be extortion and is itself a criminal offence. This situation is far too complex for an answer on a website such as this which is set up to provide summary advice in less ocmplex situations. Your friend must see a British Columbia lawyer immediately.
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