Manitoba mother heartbroken 'inordinate delays' mean 3rd Christmas without adopted son, 7, still in Nigeria

An empty bedroom set aside in Charlene Berkvens's home for her son is a painful reminder that they will spend the holidays an ocean apart for the third Christmas in a row, with no sign of when they'll be reunited.

Two years ago this month, Berkvens, who lives just north of Winnipeg, legally adopted her now seven-year-old son in Lagos, Nigeria.

She has been waiting in limbo for his arrival since, with few details from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on when it will complete its part of the process, what's taking so long or when she may be able to bring him home.

"It's exhausting and it's heartbreaking," said Berkvens.

"It's crazy to think about all the things we've missed together: birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, just spending time together."

Before the adoption, Berkvens went through three years of home visits from social workers, parental training programs, police record checks, reviews and approval from the Manitoba government, all while working with adoption agencies.

The Nigerian government legally certified the adoption in December 2021 during a months-long visit she made to Lagos.

Berkvens and her son in Lagos, Nigeria, in December 2021. (Submitted by Charlene Berkvens)

IRCC completes the final step in such adoptions — including issuing a passport to the adopted child — but that hasn't happened.

Berkvens has reached out to IRCC and its office in Accra, Ghana — which is involved in the immigration process — about the delay on numerous occasions, but has received no firm answers.

She's written to Canada's federal immigration minister and asked her member of Parliament, James Bezan, to help.

After his office inquired, IRCC confirmed earlier this year the second and final part of the immigration and citizenship application had been received, and said it is "in the queue for review by an [immigration] officer."

"The long delays in processing immigration files, particularly dealing with adoptions, is unacceptable," said Bezan, who represents the Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman riding.

"The problem seems to have gotten worse."

It's a familiar problem for Alberta-based Canadian immigration lawyer Alicia Backman-Beharry.

She's represented several families adopting from Nigeria who have encountered what she calls "inexcusable" delays and "systematic" failures in the immigration and citizenship process.

Berkvens's wait of more than two years post-adoption is even longer than her clients have had to wait, said Backman-Beharry.

Adoptions from Nigeria require 'close examination': IRCC

As a signatory to the Hague Convention — intended to protect children from illegal adoptions abroad and prevent human trafficking — Canada must ensure people here aren't removing kids from their country of origin without authorization.

Nigeria isn't a signatory to the Hague Convention, so "these cases require close examination by officers to ensure the safety of children and to limit illicit practices," an IRCC spokesperson said.

The process is meant to safeguard the interests of the child, said Backman-Beharry.

"But in practice, it really seems like the Canadian government is reluctant to approve adoptions through Lagos, and it really feels, from talking to four different sets of parents, the Canadian government is searching for evidence of fraud without having any upfront evidence of it," she said.

For parents who "have been through every single step," she said, "it is unjust to have that adoption finalized, to have that child legally be recognized as the child of a Canadian citizen … and then for the Canadian government to say, 'Well, we're not going to process your Part 2 application for months and months or years.'"

Berkvens said the adoption agencies she engaged at the outset told her to expect it would take two to three years for the adoption itself to be finalized.

She said she heard the second stage, concerning immigration and citizenship, was taking some families adopting from Nigeria a year to complete pre-pandemic. Hers has now exceeded two years, and counting.

IRCC would not provide an update on the status of Berkvens's application, but said in a statement it's "not unusual for the process to last for two years or even longer," particularly for "non-Hague Convention signatory countries."

CBC News asked the department what typical timelines are for completing applications involving adoptions from Nigeria specifically, what accounts for perceived delays and what was being done to remedy the issue.

IRCC did not answer those questions.

'Inordinate delay'

Berkvens said she has inquired about any issues with the forms she has filed with IRCC, but hasn't had any indication of problems.

Meanwhile, she continues to pay an orphanage in Lagos for her son's care.

Backman-Beharry said the government "has to make a decision on this application, and they have to show that they have actually taken a material step, not just 'it's in the queue.'"

If that doesn't happen, "it's ripe for a federal court judge to say, 'Yes, I'm going to make an order … to say you must make a decision on this file — it is inordinate delay.'"

Berkvens and her son video chat weekly. She said it's important for her to ensure her son retains cultural connections, and they visit Nigeria as he grows up so that he has a good understanding of where he comes from.

But she looks forward to "finally get him here … and goodness, [find out] what he thinks of snow."

As they wait to be reunited, she says her son is growing up without her.

"It's just heartbreaking to think that IRCC administrative delays have led to us losing two years."