The mother and father, Hungarian nationals, were married in Hungary in 1980. After they separated, the mother, with the consent of the father, took custody of their two children, a girl born in 1981 and a boy born in 1984.
The father later remarried and emigrated to Canada in 1990. The two children visited the father in Canada during their school breaks. In 1993 the boy went to live with the father.
In 1994 while the daughter was visiting, the father applied for custody of the children. The mother brought an application for their return.
The judge at first instance ordered that the daughter be returned. The judge declined to order the return of the son pending an application by the mother in Hungary for a decision that the father’s retention of the son in Canada was wrongful.
The father appealed to the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division), and the mother cross-appealed.
