In a non-Hague international child removal dispute, the court held that Ontario lacked jurisdiction under s. 22 of the Children’s Law Reform Act to determine parenting on the merits because the children were habitually resident in Dubai when they were removed to Ontario.
The court also found that the statutory conditions in s. 22(1)(b) were not all satisfied, and that the evidence did not establish serious harm under s. 23 or justify parens patriae intervention under s. 69.
Although the removal to Ontario without notice or consent was found to be wrongful, the court emphasized that self-help relocation cannot create a new habitual residence or jurisdictional foothold.
Under s. 40, the court ordered an interim cross-border parenting regime and directed the parties to advance parenting claims in the courts of England and Wales.
