Ontario Mother Struggles to Bring Adopted Daughter Home

Nine months after receiving her daughter’s official adoption papers from Lagos State in Nigeria, Andrea Eaton of Tillsonburg, Ont., is still waiting to bring her daughter, Maya, home.

It’s not an unfamiliar story – Canada has a track record of delaying entry to adopted Nigerian children. It’s a problem advocates say is inexcusable and contravenes Canada’s international and domestic commitments to children.

“I’ve missed – we both have – family events, Christmas, my parents have my dogs, my house is vacant,” said Eaton who now lives in Accra, Ghana with Maya.

Getting Maya home is one thing, but fixing how this doesn’t work for kids and families is really important to me. This is systemic. It’s not just Maya’s case.- Andrea Eaton, Maya’s mother

“We came here to be closer to the High Commission of Canada,” said Eaton, 53. “Thinking that if we have the ability to speak with somebody there, they would be able to meet her, that it might help move things along and get us home quicker.” 

The commission received Eaton’s application for Maya’s Canadian citizenship on October 17, 2022. 

No one at the High Commission has responded to Eaton’s repeated requests for information; inquiries she made both by email and in person the five times she visited the commission and was turned around by a security guard. “There’s no way to access or contact a soul. Consular services declined every inquiry saying, ‘that’s immigration,'” said Eaton.

Representatives with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have only told Eaton Maya’s application is on file and is being processed. reached out IRCC and has yet to receive a response.

Watch Maya grow from being a baby to a toddler while waiting for Canadian citizenship:

Even though Andrea Eaton of Tillsonburg, Ont., officially adopted her daughter Maya from Nigeria last August, Maya has been unable to come to Canada. The pair have been waiting for months in Accra, Ghana for Canada to process both Maya’s travel visa and citizenship application.

Dreams of being a mother

In June 2020, just days before her 50th birthday, Eaton began the process of adopting a Nigerian child through the Toronto agency Family By Adoption. Eaton had always wanted children but after her first marriage ended in divorce and her second husband died from cancer she decided she would do it alone.

It took two years for the Toronto agency and the Morgan Hill Children’s Foundation in Nigeria to match Maya with Eaton. During that time, Eaton had gathered the $45,000 needed for the adoption – and in June 2022 she flew out to Lagos to meet 17-month-old Maya who’d been living in a state-run orphanage after being abandoned by her birth mother.

“It was super emotional,” said Eaton. “She was so little and she was so cute. It was surreal.”

On Aug. 4, 2022 Maya’s adoption became official. Waiting for all the official paperwork took time and she could only apply for Canadian citizenship for Maya in October.

Maya Eaton’s official adoption certificate from the Nigeria government from August 2022. (Submitted by Andrea Eaton)

“Canadian parents then have the impossible choice of remaining in Nigeria with their child waiting for…Citizenship from IRCC (which can take years),” said Calgary immigration lawyer Alicia Backman-Beharry who has worked with four other Canadian families trying to bring their adopted children home from Nigeria. “Or they go wait somewhere else or leave their child under guardianship at an orphanage in Lagos while returning home.”

Case was supposed to be expedited

Eaton wanted nothing more than staying close with Maya.

“Maya suffered a burn while at the orphanage when she was four months old,” said Eaton. “She has severe scarring and there’s a deformity on her left foot which stops her from getting fitted properly for shoes.”

Maya needs corrective surgery according to Eaton.

This is why she applied for expedited processing of Maya’s case; IRCC officials confirmed that qualification exists on the application but that’s all she’s been informed about so far according to Eaton.

Eaton also submitted an application for a visitor’s visa on behalf of Maya – there’s been no updates about that either as per what she shared.

Andrea and Maya Eaton are living in Accra while they await processing of both visas by Canadian authorities.(Submitted by Andrea Eaton)

Is Canada breaking rules?

“Canada often uses bureaucratic inertia leading legal adoptions into limbo forcing parents like Andrea into cruel situations,” stated Matthew Behrens from Rural Refugee Rights Network.</pp”We’ve seen many instances where governments fail their promises towards children’s rights especially when those kids aren’t white.”</pp

Canada signed onto Hague Conventions concerning intercountry adoption according to Backman-Beharry. “Canada arguably violates its obligations under Article 18 requiring necessary steps taken enabling these children entrance into permanent residency once adoptions are finalized,” stated Backman-Beharry.</pp

Additonally , Canada’s own Citizenship Act emphasizes similar commitments says Backman-Beharry.</pp

The country isn’t fulfilling those agreements , she noted. “Getting an adopted child back home safely can become riddled with bureaucratic delays which are simply unacceptable.”</ppMaya suffered significant burns during her stay at an orphanage where she lived until age seventeen months requiring surgical intervention due needing conditions associated with injuries sustained (submitted photo).

An expensive wait

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“I’m legally bound asher parent,”said Eaton.”Regardlessofwhat delays IRCC continues propagating, she willbecomea Canadian citizen. I’mreadytomeetthe requirementsforvisitors’ visa but can’t obtainone.”
Despite working remotelyforan American companyproviding customer support, Maya now attending preschool, Eaton faces escalating living expenses abroad.“I’ve drainedmy savings doingthis. Here costsare soaring,”she lamented.“This journeywasworthitbut challenging nonetheless.”She can’t stop thinking about life backin Canadaand everything they’ve missed outon together already.”I waitedalongtimeformotherhood. I’mtryinghardtoshowher ourfuture togetherin Ontario”“I wanttoprepareherfor skatingonthelake nearbyandspendingtimewith mydogs.”“Getting Mayahomeisonegoal, butsortingouttheseissues affectingkidsandfamilies matters too. This systemis broken. It’snotjust about Maya.”Listenin ontotheinterview featuring Andrea Eatonon London Morning:

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