Dr. Geoffrey Shannon:

I wish to respond to Deputy McLellan's question about the Hague Convention. One of the real problems in the area of family law is the fact that children and families move across borders. My mantra would be "Apply to the court, don't fly". The Hague Convention operates where someone wrongfully removes or retains a child out of the jurisdiction. However, we do not have a set of rules in this jurisdiction governing a person's application to the court to legitimately apply to move across a border. I am saying we need to put legislation in place for that to occur because there is a compelling need. We have this general principle that it would be in the best interest of the child and we now need to define that. In my report, I have given considerable thought to this and suggested that we follow the principles in the Washington declaration, which sets out a clear roadmap as to how one would deal with such cases. I think that brings me to the end of all of the questions I have been asked.