The Quebec Court of Appeal has ruled that a woman who was wanted in the United States for allegedly kidnapping her children and bringing them to Canada should be extradited.
The woman, a Canadian citizen living in the Eastern Townships, has been fighting her extradition since 2010, arguing that she was trying to protect her children.
The woman's three children, aged 14, 10 and 9, told Quebec child protection officials that their father beat them and left them unattended for long periods of time, so they ran away.
Her legal counsel tried to argue that it was in the best interests of the children that she be allowed to stay in Canada.
A Quebec Superior Court judge initially ruled in her favour, but that decision was overturned and Canada's justice minister ordered her extradition back to the state of Georgia.
The court hearing today was to determine whether the minister adequately took the children’s best interests into consideration.
The woman is now in custody in Montreal. Her lawyers are considering taking their appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The three children say they want to stay with their mother. With Friday’s extradition order, they could be turned over to the care of Quebec’s child protection services or one of their relatives in Quebec.