The appellant mother sought a stay of an order requiring her to return her two children to Trinidad and Tobago.
The mother had brought the children to Canada and applied for refugee status.
The respondent father obtained an ex parte custody order in Trinidad and subsequently brought an urgent motion in Ontario for the children's return.
The motion judge heard the matter in the absence of the mother's counsel, who had requested a short adjournment after receiving voluminous materials late.
The Court of Appeal granted the stay pending appeal, finding that the mother was denied procedural fairness and the right to be heard, which undermined the rules of natural justice.
