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Ministry of Justice

I think my former spouse has abducted my children. What should I do?

Contact your local police department immediately. (Under the Criminal Code of Canada, the police may arrest a parent who abducts a child under age 14 and charge that parent with child abduction.) You should also contact a lawyer for legal advice.

Give the police a copy of your custody order, if you have one, as well as photographs and descriptions of your children and their other parent, and ask them to contact the RCMP's Missing Children's Registry.

You may also want to read the federal government's publication called International Child Abductions: A Manual for Parents. Although primarily about international abductions, this manual also contains information - such as a list of organizations that help parents find missing children - that may be useful if your children are abducted within Canada.

International Child Abduction

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is aimed at ensuring abducted children are returned home. It applies in Canada and in about 70 other countries.

If you know that your children have already been taken to another country and you know where your children currently are, contact Penny Lipsack of the Legal Services Branch, Ministry of Justice, at 250 356-8433.

Lipsack is responsible for administering the Hague Convention in British Columbia. If your children are under 16 years of age and have been taken from Canada to another convention country, she can tell you how to apply to have your children returned under the convention and can help arrange for you to see your children in the other country. You must apply for your children's return within one year of when the children were taken from Canada.