R&B singer, actor, and model, Tyrese Gibson, announced in a recent
Entertainment Tonight interview that he purchased a private island for his eight-year-old daughter,
Shayla, as a Christmas gift.
It is no secret that Tyrese and his ex-wife Norma Mitchell have been fighting
for custody of Shayla since they broke up in 2009. The former couple has
battled publicly over their daughter’s time and whether she may travel
with her mother. In March of 2015, a Court had to order Tyrese to release
his daughter’s passport and allow her to travel with Mitchell to visit
family in Israel.
Tyrese’s extravagant Christmas gift will presumably result in future
travel plans with Shayla. Love Island is reported to be at an undisclosed
location, however, it is most likely out of state and may be in a different
country. This begs the question: What will happen if Mitchell does not
agree to let Tyrese take Shayla to Love Island?
Like Tyrese, many Ontario parents deal with complications when they attempt
to take their children on vacation to foreign countries. Although Tyrese
now has 50/50 custody, if his matter were governed by Ontario law, both
parents would still require each other’s consent for any international
travel with their child. In Ontario, all parents who wish to travel with
their child in the absence of the child’s other parent must have the
consent of the other parent to do so, even if the parents are not separated
or divorced.
An efficient approach taken by many families it to include terms in their
Separation Agreement or Parenting Agreement to specify that consent for
travel shall not be unreasonably withheld. However, this can nevertheless
lead to conflict if the parties do not agree about what is reasonable.
A parent may have the right to withhold travel consent if the other parent
is attempting to take the child to dangerous place, such as a country
experiencing political unrest. However, a parent wishing to travel with
his or her child may seek a court order to force the other parent to consent
or to dispense with the need for same. In other situations, where travel
consent is being withheld due to reasonable concerns for the health, safety,
or other interests of the child, a court may be inclined to order that
the child may not travel to a certain location or with a particular parent.
In either situation, the court proceedings may be costly and time consuming.
Given the above, parents wishing to take tropical holidays or visit with
relatives who live abroad should plan ahead and attempt to obtain the
necessary travel consent well in advance of their travel dates. Doing
so may minimize conflict and a need for urgent court interventions such
as the Order obtained by Ms. Mitchell.