Coquitlam parents bringing their daughter home after bureaucratic nightmare

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – A Coquitlam couple has boarded a plane in Japan bound for Canada with their newly adopted daughter, something they were supposed to do last month.

They’re one of five BC families who was stuck in a bureaucratic ordeal that ended last Friday when the Canadian government finally granted visas for their adopted children.

Ryan Hoag says it’s a huge relief. “No pun intended, but it feels like we’re in the home stretch.”

The government temporarily suspended the visas near the end of the adoption process to clarify a change in U.S. policy on adoptions from Japan but Hoag says questions remain.

“There is really no rhyme and reason for the delay. I feel like it could have been wrapped up a lot quicker,” he tells us.

“I think at the end of the day, the government probably landed where we had landed several months back, which was really that there’s been no change in Japanese or Canadian or British Columbia law that would impact adoptions.”

He says all five families received their permanent residency visas for their babies at the same time.

“There was definitely a sigh of relief and celebration amongst the five families… I had the good fortune yesterday, when I was flying out of Vancouver, to cross paths with one of the families coming home. So, that was a really nice, emotional moment. It was certainly a long time coming.

While he’s frustrated with how long it took to get here, Hoag is glad he and his wife can now focus on the joys of being new parents.

His flight should be landing near home on Tuesday around 9:30 a.m.

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