Five B.C. families stuck in Japan as Canada refuses visas for adopted babies
VANCOUVER — Ryan Hoag spent his first Father’s Day separated from his wife and baby daughter by more than 7,500 kilometres and reams of red tape.
Hoag’s family is stuck in Toyko unable to return to their home in Coquitlam, B.C., because the federal government won’t issue a visa for the newly adopted infant.
They are one of five families unable to get visas after travelling from B.C. to Japan this spring to pick up their adopted children.
Vancouver lawyer Alex Stojicevic represents the group and said Tuesday that the issue appears to be a change in American policy around adoptions from Japan, which led the Canadian government to seek an opinion from the Japan’s justice ministry.