Please sign and share https://www.change.org/p/allow-3-year-old-andrew-to-live-in-canada-with-his-alberta-parents   Ottawa refuses to allow entry to Samuel and Itunu Oremade's legally adopted 3-year-old son, Andrew, preventing this Canadian family from living together in their Alberta home. For 22 months, Canada has refused to complete Part 2 of Andrew's Citizenship application process (a simple matter of confirming documents over the course of several hours).

Keeping a vulnerable 3-year-old from enjoying the love and support of his parents at this critical stage of life is unconscionable. Andrew’s physical, emotional, and psychological health are at risk at this important stage of bonding with his parents and could affect his development.

The Canadian government must immediately finalize the second stage of Andrew Oremade’s citizenship application so he can come home to his parents.

The refusal by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to finalize Andrew’s Canadian citizenship in a timely manner has caused undue hardship to Andrew and his parents.

Part 1 of Andrew’s Citizenship was finalized in December, 2018.

Due to unfortunate and traumatizing life events shortly after Andrew’s birth, he was taken in by an orphanage to be cared for and was eligible for adoption “to enable him to enjoy the right to a family life and adequate parental love and care.”

Samuel and Itunu have performed all the due diligence required for an international adoption, and have submitted all the documentation including the Family Court of Lagos State (Nigeria) court-approved adoption papers (June 25, 2019) to the Alberta Children’s Services as was requested, and they were duly approved.

While the Canadian government claims the pandemic has prevented it from acting expeditiously, other Canadian families who submitted their Stage 2 applications up to 5 months after Samuel and Itunu submitted theirs received approvals and were able to travel home with their adopted children on March 30, 2020. The Canadian government refused to process Andrew’s citizenship and travel documents.

Even though the Canadian government was offering evacuation flights in March, 2020, they informed Samuel and Itunu that little Andrew could not come with them. These loving parents could not abandon their son, and stayed on as long as they could despite a worsening political situation that saw riots in the streets near their accommodation. The shooting became so intense that Andrew was traumatized, crying out: “Mummy, lie down, that sound again.” Desperate pleas to the Canadian government for Andrew’s application to be processed were refused while others were processed on similar humanitarian grounds.

This family’s life has been on hold for 22 months. Both parents have been faced with impossible choices. Samuel had to return to Canada to continue his job, and in December 2020, Itunu did as well. “I was left between the devil and the deep blue sea. I was confused, pained, bitter and frustrated,” Itunu recalls. While her elderly mother offered to help, Itunu says “it hit me hard that I will have to travel without our son. I cried throughout the night, staring at Andrew and wishing God could just make a miracle happen. …No process or country should do this to a little 3-year-old boy. If it’s truly in the best interests of the child, then all hands must be on deck to get the family reunited by allowing Andrew to join his parents and start experiencing the physical love and affection he deserves.”

Canada must stop refusing to recognize Andrew as the legal child of his Canadian parents. Under the Hague Convention, Canada cannot continue to allow a Canadian toddler to be barred from entering Canada because of its own refusal to finalize the second part of the citizenship application. That finalization (it takes only a few hours to complete Part 2 of the Citizenship process) can easily be completed at IRCC’s Montreal or Sydney offices.

It’s long past time for Canada to allow entry to 3-year-old Andrew Oremade to join his Alberta parents.

Media coverage: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/nigeria-adoption-canada-1.6037667