TORONTO, Canada, March 28, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, along with Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Omar Alghabra, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), today issued the following statement:
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, we extend a warm welcome to the five newly adopted Congolese children who arrived yesterday and to the 24 others who preceded them over the past months.
“We would also like to express our gratitude to Ginette Martin, Ambassador of Canada to the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, and her team in Kinshasa for doing everything they could do to resolve the challenges faced by these families. Together, we remain deeply moved by the resiliency and conviction of the parents who experienced a number of difficulties in finalizing the adoptions and bringing their children home.
“We would like to acknowledge the members of Parliament and the Senate from both sides of the aisle who contributed to this outcome. Working together as parliamentarians is the best way to help Canadians in trouble around the world. We also acknowledge the efforts by Congolese authorities to expedite the adoption cases over the past few months.
“The remaining five children were finally united with their new families in their new homes in Canada yesterday. The Government of Canada is therefore pleased to report that the adoption cases of Canadian families in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] that were pending have all been resolved.”
International adoptions from the DRC had been suspended since September 2013 pending a review by the Congolese authorities of internal procedures.
