Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker I would like to move a motion for support for Ms. Roberta Vaneltsi.
WHEREAS Roberta Vaneltsi is a resident of the Northwest Territories and is a person of Gwich'in heritage;
AND WHEREAS she is the mother of two children, namely: Roman Cerny, born May 5, 1986; and Petra Cerny, born January 20, 1989;
AND WHEREAS the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories issued a custody order on June 29, 1994, which granted joint custody to the parents of the two children, Roberta Vaneltsi and Petr Cerny, and which permitted Mr. Cerny to take the two children to the Czech Republic for a period of one year only;
AND WHEREAS Petr Cerny failed to return the children to Canada when scheduled to do so by Court Order;
AND WHEREAS Roberta Vaneltsi was subsequently granted sole custody of the children by an Order issued from the Supreme Court of the Yukon;
AND WHEREAS Petr Cerny has consistently disobeyed the Canadian Court Orders and has refused to return the children to Canada or to let the children travel to Canada for the purposes of visiting with their mother;
AND WHEREAS when the children were initially sent to the Czech Republic, the Czech Republic was not a signatory to the Hague Convention on the civil aspects on International Child Abduction;
AND WHEREAS Ms. Vaneltsi could not then rely on the Hague Convention to have here children returned to her;
AND WHEREAS the Czech Republic is now a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction;
AND WHEREAS it is every child's right to be able to visit with, and spend time with, their parents;
AND WHEREAS it is critical that aboriginal children be exposed to their culture and to their heritage;
AND WHEREAS the Courts of the Czech Republic have yet to make an order which would allow the children to travel to Canada to visit with their mother;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Honourable Member for Hay River, that this Legislative Assembly supports the efforts of Ms. Roberta Vaneltsi in securing meaningful visits and contacts with her children, Roman and Petra Cerny, including visits to their home in the Northwest Territories;
AND FURTHER that the Premier and Executive Council are strongly encouraged to request the federal government to take all possible measures to assist Ms. Vaneltsi in being reunited with her children, including contacting the Government of the Czech Republic to express its strong concerns with respect to the fact that these children are being denied the opportunity to visit with their mother in Canada and are being denied their right, as aboriginal children, to be exposed in a meaningful fashion to their aboriginal heritage and culture.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.