Katherine Allen

This was a costs ruling following a successful application by the father under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The court had previously ordered the return of the parties' child to Illinois, finding she had been wrongfully retained in Ontario by the mother.

The father sought full recovery costs of $36,356.06, while the mother argued that no costs should be payable due to her financial circumstances and her focus on the child's best interests.

The court found the mother's litigation conduct and her late-stage challenge to the child's habitual residence to be unreasonable, ultimately ordering her to pay the father $33,000.00 in costs.

The applicant father sought a "chasing order" for declaratory relief that the child, F.K., is habitually resident in Brampton, Ontario, and for the child's return from Poland under the Children’s Law Reform Act and the Hague Convention.

The court found that F.K. was wrongfully retained in Poland by the mother and ordered the child's immediate return to Ontario.

The decision reviews the legal principles of habitual residence, wrongful retention, and the best interests of the child, and addresses the credibility of the parties' evidence.

The Father applied under The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction for the return of the parties' child, Miraya Devi Chawla, to Champaign, Illinois, alleging wrongful retention by the Mother in Ontario.

The Mother argued that Ontario was the child's habitual residence or, alternatively, that returning the child to Illinois would pose a grave risk of harm due to alleged domestic violence and her uncertain immigration status.

The court found that Miraya's habitual residence was Champaign, Illinois, and that she was wrongfully retained.

The court also found that the Mother did not meet the high threshold for the Article 13(b) exception regarding grave risk of harm, especially with the Father's undertakings to mitigate risks.

The application for the child's return was granted.