The child, a girl, was 2 2/3 at the date of the application for access. Sometime after September 1990 the mother unilaterally took the child to England in breach of the father’s rights of custody.
On 21 June 1991 the High Court ordered the return of the child. Upon the child’s return the Ontario Court (Provincial Division) awarded custody to the mother and gave her the option of living in either England or Canada. The mother then relocated to England with the child.
On 19 December 1991 the Ontario court awarded the father certain access rights. In April 1992 the father sought to exercise those rights. The mother however refused to send the child to Canada.
In July 1992 the father initiated proceedings under the Convention to enforce his rights of access.