A South African woman’s two-year battle for her nine-year-old great-niece to move to Canada to live with her has hit a dead end.
But Lisa Pyne-Mercier is not giving up.
Pyne-Mercier, who moved to Shawnigan Lake in British Columbia, Canada, 10 years ago and runs a coffee and chocolate shop there, told TimesLIVE Premium while she did not know what her next step would be, she could not allow Ryleigh to grow up in the foster care system in SA.
The child is her late sister's granddaughter.
Last month the High Commission of Canada in SA issued its latest rejection.
It refused all Ryleigh's visa applications because while the child is defined as an orphan in SA, she was not considered one in Canada as her biological father is alive.
In 2021, the child's mother, Jackie Ridland, was found dead on a rural property in Tzaneen, Limpopo.
Ryleigh, who was seven at the time, was discovered with her mother’s body eight days after she had died. Rescuers said they found the child traumatised, scared, angry, dehydrated, soiled and crying.
Her parents divorced in 2016. Numerous court documents show that the father terminated his parental rights, and Ridland was awarded sole rights and responsibilities.
“Jackie Ridland shall have sole guardianship in respect of the child, and no consent from [the father] shall be necessary for matters that include the child’s marriage, adoption or departure and removal from the Republic of SA,” the document stated.
In her will, Ridland stated she wanted Pyne-Mercier to be Ryleigh’s legal guardian.
Last year, the high court in SA declared Pyne-Mercier Ryleigh's legal guardian, with no objections from the child's father.
He signed an affidavit before the guardianship court application saying he strongly believed Ryleigh would be better off living in Canada with Pyne-Mercier.
However, Canadian authorities also stated Pyne-Mercier did not meet the requirements to be the child’s sponsor as she is not a direct aunt, sibling or grandparent.
“Ryleigh is my great-niece. When my sister passed in 2016, she willed the care of her children to me. When her eldest, Ridland passed, she left Ryleigh to me. We are blood relatives,” Pyne-Mercier told TimesLIVE Premium.
She said the only other relative in SA was Ryleigh’s 80-year-old great-grandmother.
Pyne-Mercier kept in contact with Ridland after she moved to Canada and spoke to Ryleigh frequently.
“What these rejections mean is that Ryleigh's rights — under the laws laid out by Unicef — have been violated, and instead of being with family who want her, she has to remain in the foster care system. I am disappointed that the authorities in Canada have overlooked this case and have failed Ryleigh and myself by not looking at the best interests of the child.”
“We are devastated that she has to wait even longer before we can be a family, before we can be together, as her mother had wished and as the courts have stated,” she said.
Pyne-Mercier said she had followed “all the steps and all the advice I have been given by those who hold positions in offices that are qualified to give advice on these matters”.
“It seems as though they don’t even know what the right advice is, because I don’t know if SA or Canada have had such a unique situation. My hope is that people of influence and those in power are able to assist by speaking with either the president of SA and have him ask the hard question, and to find out why Canada is not honouring the high court of SA's decision,” said Pyne-Mercier.
The High Commission of Canada in SA told TimesLIVE Premium that due to privacy legislation, it could not provide case-specific information.
Its migration section said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) was sensitive to the emotional stress that can be caused when there are issues with cases involving children.
“Nonetheless, IRCC must take all necessary precautions to ensure that all international adoption cases involving children comply with Canadian laws, international laws, as well as the statutes and regulations of the child’s country of origin. The government of Canada’s priority is to protect the safety and wellbeing of the child/children involved in international adoptions.
“In Canada, adoption is the responsibility of the provinces and territories, and they all have their own legislation implementing The Hague Convention. Once the adoption process has been completed in accordance with the laws of both countries, then the immigration or citizenship process to bring the child to Canada can proceed.”
It said IRCC’s role as the competent authority for immigration and citizenship was to make a determination on the right of the child to enter and reside permanently in Canada.
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