International child abductions

First, contact Alberta Justice (a government department). They are the central authority in Alberta under the Hague Convention. 

• Contact the Edmonton office if you live north of Calgary.
• Contact the Calgary office if you live in Calgary or south of Calgary.

Find contact information for these offices on the HCCH’s list of central authorities. 

The staff at Alberta Justice will help you decide whether you can apply under the Hague Convention. They’ll then give you information about how to apply and work with the central authority in the other country. The court in the other country decides whether to order the return of your child. 

To apply under the Hague Convention, all the following must be true: 

• your child is younger than 16
• your child usually lives in Canada
• by taking your child out of Canada, the other person violated a court order or your parenting and decision-making rights

When deciding whether to order the other person to return your child, the court in the other country looks at: 

• how long your child has been in the other country
• if your child has been in the other country for 12 months or more, whether your child is settled there 
• whether returning your child to Canada would seriously harm them 
• whether your child is mature enough to decide they don’t want to return to Canada 

The court in the other country can only order the other person to return your child to Canada. The court will not make an order about parenting time and decision-making issues, such as who your child will live with. Apply in an Alberta court for an order about parenting time and decision-making responsibility. 

Learn more about applying under the Hague Convention on the Court of King’s Bench website (scroll partway down the page). 

It’s also a good idea to get legal help before you apply, as the process is complicated.

The following behaviours may be signs a person may abduct your child: 

• They threaten to take your child to another country.
• They threaten to take your child away from you or say you will never see your child again if you leave the relationship or end the marriage.
• They control your money, such as by not letting you take out money, moving money to another account you cannot access or hiding money. This is an especially serious sign if their control has recently increased or changed. 
• Something changes suddenly. For example, they quit their job, sell their property, close their bank accounts or end their lease. 
• They apply for documents for your child without your consent, such as a passport, birth certificate or travel visa.
• They hide passports, birth certificates, ID or other documents, or they say these documents are lost or destroyed. 
• They show a pattern of coercive control. Take coercive controlling behaviour seriously even if there are no obvious signs the other person will abduct your child.
• They’ve started encouraging your child to think badly of you or to “choose” them as a preferred parent.
• They stalk or control your movements. Examples include demanding to know you or your child’s every move, unexpectedly showing up to your child’s school or daycare, or tracking your movements without your consent.
• They’ve previously tried to remove your child from your care. Examples include taking your child from school or daycare without notice or permission, or not returning your child at the end of their parenting time.

Below are examples of evidence you can collect: 

• Written evidence: Text messages, emails, social media messages or posts, notes or letters, etc. The best evidence is the other person clearly saying they will take your child out of Canada. However, indirect threats are still evidence. 
• Ties to the other country: The other person’s immigration status in Canada, citizenship in the other country, phone records showing frequent contact with people in the other country, or money transfers to a person or bank account in the other country. Or, any other evidence that shows the person has strong ties to the other country, especially if those ties have increased recently. 
• Warning signs: If you have seen or gone through any of the warning signs listed above, write down what happened, when it happened, who said what and any other details. This can include questions from friends or family or things your child said that concerned you.

You can ask the court to include the following in your parenting order to prevent abduction:

• You are the only parent who can travel with your child and make decisions about travel for your child. 
• The other person may not take your child outside of the city where you live. (If the court doesn’t agree with this, at the very least, the order should clearly restrict your child’s travel outside of Canada.)
• You hold your child’s identification or travel documents, including their birth certificate and passport. If the other person already has your child’s passport, they must give it to you.
• You are the only parent who can apply for identification or travel documents for your child, including their birth certificate and passport.
• Law enforcement can enforce the order. (This is called a police enforcement clause, and the police or RCMP may not enforce the order without it.)

Depending on the situation, you may also want to ask the court to include one or both of the following in the order: 

• You have sole decision-making responsibility for your child. 
• The other parent may only have supervised parenting time with your child.

Ask the court for several certified copies of the order. Always keep one copy of the order with you and one at home.

Share certified copies of the order as follows:

• Bring a copy to any police station and ask them to upload it to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database. This allows the police, RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and other law enforcement agencies to view the order online. 
• Give a copy to a person in charge at your child’s school, daycare or any other place that cares for your child. Make sure they understand what it says and what to do if someone tries to abduct your child.
• If your child is under the age of 16, give a copy to Passport Canada and ask them to add your child’s name to the passport system lookout list. This will alert Passport Canada staff to take extra care if they receive a passport application for your child and to check that you allowed it. Your child will stay on the list until they turn 16, when they can apply for an adult passport on their own. Visit any passport office or Passport Canada’s website.