In most circumstances, you must get the written consent of
your minor child’s other parent or guardian to travel outside of the country,
even during your own scheduled parenting time.
Even if you and the other parent are still in a relationship, and you
plan a trip alone with your children, the other parent will still need to
provide written consent to such travel.
In your case; therefore, you will most likely not be able to
travel outside of Canada unless your ex indicates her consent on a notarised
travel permission document.
Sometimes, when parents separate, they include a term in
their agreement order that indicates that the consent of the other parent is
not necessary for travel outside of the country. If that is your situation, then you will need
to take a copy of the order or agreement with you for travel. Note that if your agreement was informal, and
was not signed with independent legal advice, it may not be accepted as valid by
third-party agencies (like airlines or customs agents).
If you don’t have an agreement or order, or you do have one
but it doesn’t reference international travel, you will typically need a
notarised travel permission document from your ex to take the children out of
the country.
For more family law information, listen to "Family Law Answers for Real Life" radio program live every second Wednesday night at 9 p.m. (MST) or on demand at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lisatose
